San Francisco has them, and now Madison is considering a test program for “parklets,” which allow restaurants to use parking spaces directly in front of their buildings for extended seating or green space. Businesses would have to reimburse the city for what it would annually earn in meter fees, but the addition of parklets would reduce the amount of on-street parking.
There are other rules, too, that could render many businesses ineligible. According to a story in the Wisconsin State Journal, parklets could be limited to businesses on streets with 25 mph-or-less speed limits, would not be allowed on a hill, and could not be on an arterial street. Businesses would also have to have parking spaces available elsewhere. Liquor licenses would likely have to be revised to include outdoor service. The idea, first suggested by local business AJ Bombers, is very early in the approval process.
