Parklet Impact Study

ParkletImpactStudySanFranciscoGreatStreetsProject

SanFrancisco,CA2011

ParkletImpactStudyThe influence of parklets on pedestrian traffic, behavior, andpercepEoninSanFrancisco,April–August,2011.

AspecialthankstoourvolunteerswhocontributedtheirEmeandenergyto collect data for this study: Benjamin Alvers, Jessica ArneM, CraigBaerwald,ValerieCarrasco,MaMhewCunha‐Rigby,JeffDavis,Keeeth,OlgaKhroustaleva, Summer Krounbi, Patrick Larvie, Celeste Le Compte, AaronSedley, Karen Siman‐Tov, Emily Taylor, Stephanie Tholand, AntonWalker,andChloeWeiller.

ReportpreparedbyLizaPraM.

Coverphotocredits:Rebargroup,Sfeater.com,Flickr.com/MarkHogan

ParklethostedbyCrepeHouseandZaytoonWrapsat1136ValenciaStreetSfgreatstreets.org

ExecuEveSummaryIntroducEonMethodologyValenciaStreetPolkStreetStocktonStreetBusinessPerspecEveConclusionsAppendix

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TableofContents

ExecuEveSummary

ParkletImpactStudyParklets repurpose two to three parking stalls along a block as aspaceforpeopletorelaxandenjoythecityaroundthem.SincethefirstparkletwasbuiltinSanFranciscoin2010,over20parkletshavebeen built around the city. Because they are a new type of publicspace improvement, the San Francisco Great Streets Projectconducted this study to measure the influence of parklets onpedestriantraffic,streetlife,andnearbybusinesses.

Pedestrian counts, staEonary acEvity counts, pedestrian surveys,and business surveys were conducted at three locaEons whereparkletswerebuilt–ValenciaStreetintheMission,StocktonStreetinNorthBeach,andPolkStreetinPolkGulch–beforeandaeereachparkletwasinstalled.

Keyfindings AveragefoottrafficonStocktonStreetincreased44%from304to438peopleperhouraeertheparkletwasinstalled.However,therewas no significant change in foot traffic at theValencia Street andPolkStreetlocaEons.

 Thenumberofpeople stopping toengage in staEonaryacEviEessignificantlyincreasedatallthreelocaEons,especiallyonweekdays.Thegreatest increasewasonPolkStreetwhere theaveragenearlytripledfromfourto11peopleatanygivenEme.

 There was also an incremental increase in the number of bikesparkedineachlocaEon.

 The results of the pedestrian survey varied greatly by locaEon.WhilepercepEonoftheareaasagoodplaceforsocializingandfunincreased on Valencia and Polk Streets increased, it decreased onStockton Street. PercepEon of the area as a place that looks cleanincreasedonPolkandStocktonStreets increased,butdecreasedonValenciaStreet.

 Although only one of the seven businesses that replied to thebusinesssurveyobservedthatcustomerlevelshadincreasedaeeraparklet was installed, none had observed a decrease in theircustomerlevels.

 Fiveofthesevenbusinessesobservedthatmostoftheircustomersareprimarilyfromthesurroundingneighborhoodandarrivetotheirestablishmentbyfoot.

 None of the businesses reported significant concerns about theparklet regarding loss of nearby street parking or other impacts ontheirbusiness.

ConclusionsThe most tangible benefit of parklets this study idenEfied is thecreaEonofnewpublic space foranyone tosit, relax,andenjoy thecityaround.ThenumberofpeoplestoppingtosocializeandengageinposiEvebehaviorincreasedsignificantlyatallthreelocaEons.Theinfluence of this increase in acEvity on people’s percepEon of thearea varied with other neighborhood condiEons. Although thebenefittobusinessesismostclearlyfeltbythesponsoringbusiness,nonegaEveImpactsonnearbybusinesseswereidenEfied.

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IntroducEon

Whatisaparklet?Parklets repurpose two to three parking stalls along a block as aspace forpeople to relax,drinka cupof coffee,andenjoy thecityaround them. Parklets do this by building out a plajorm into theparkinglanesothatthegradeofthesidewalkgetscarriedout intothe parking lane. On the plajorm, benches, planters, landscaping,bikeparking,andcafétablesandchairsallcometogethertoprovidea welcoming new public space. A nearby business or organizaEonpays for, builds, and maintains the parklet, but the space itself ispublicandopenforanyonetouse.

InSanFrancisco,streetsandpublicrights‐of‐waymakeupfullyonequarterofthecity’slandarea–morespaceeventhanisfoundin

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allofthecity’sparks.ThefirstparkletinSanFranciscowascreatedasa trial by the City’s Pavement to Parks program to demonstrate arelaEvelyquickandinexpensivewaytorepurposesomeofthisspacefor people. Following the success of that first parklet, dozens ofbusinesseshaveapplied forparkletpermits andover20havebeenbuiltaroundthecity.

ParkletImpactStudyThepurposeofthisstudyistomeasuretheinfluenceofparkletsonpedestriantraffic,streetlife,andnearbybusinesses.

Whilemanybusinessesandneighborhoodsareeagertoaddparkletsto their streets, some are concerned that people won’t use them,they’ll aMract negaEve behavior, and/or hurt local businesses. Thisstudy will help quanEfy the benefits of parklets and idenEfy anyadverseimpactsthatmayneedtobeaddressed.

The Great Streets Project conducted a similar study of the firstparkletonDivisaderoStreetin2010.Thatstudyfoundthataeertheparklet was installed pedestrian traffic on the block increased 13%andthenumberofpeoplesimngorstandingontheblock30%.

This study looks at three new parklets in three differentneighborhoods: Mission:parklethostedbytheCrepeHouseandZaytoonWrapsat1136ValenciaStreet. PolkGulch:parklethostedbyQuetzalCaféat1234PolkStreet. North Beach: parklet hosted by Tony’s Pizza Napoletana at 1570StocktonStreet.

ThemethodologiesdescribedbelowweredevelopedinconsultaEonwiththeSanFranciscoPlanningDepartment,anddatawascollectedby the San Francisco Great Streets Project staff and trainedvolunteers.Exceptforthebusinesssurveys,alldatawascollectedateachlocaEonbeforeandaeertheparkletswereinstalled.

PedestriancountsPedestriancountsmeasurethenumberofpeoplewalkingalongtheblock in the study area, and reflect both uElitarian trips anddiscreEonary trips. Pedestrian flow was recorded in 15‐minuteintervalsatthreedifferenthoursoftheday–12:00pmtorepresentthe lunchcrowd,5:00pmand6:00pmtorepresentthecommuterand evening leisure crowd. Countswere collected onWednesdaysand Saturdays to capture both typical weekend and weekdaypaMerns.BeforedatawascollectedinApril2011andaeerdatawascollectedinAugust2011.

Sta>onaryac>vi>esStaEonary pedestrian acEviEes tell us how the study area isperformingasaplace.WhenadiversemixofpeoplestoptoengageinastaEonaryacEviEes(suchastalking,window‐shopping,oreaEngat a café), they increase the perceived sociability of the area,enhancing its sense of place, and, thus commercial aMracEveness.StaEonary acEvity was recorded during the same hours as thepedestrian counts. The data collecEon was performed by taking a“snapshot” of the street segment; the surveyorwalked eachblocksegmentandrecordedthenumberofpeopleengagedineachtypeofstaEonaryacEvity.

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StaEonaryAcEvity DescripEon

Standing Smoking,talkingoncellphone,socializing,windowshopping,etc

WaiEngfortransport Standingorsimngatatransitstop

SimngonprivateseaEng Simngonmoveablechairsoutsideofcafes

SimngonpublicseaEng Simngonpublicfurnituresuchasbenches,specificallydesignforsimng

SimngonpublicsecondaryorimprovisedseaEng

Simngonstreetfurniturenotdesignedforsimngsuchasstairsandplanters

Simngontheground Simngonthesidewalkorstreet

Lyingdown Lyingonthegroundoronstreetfurniture

Childrenplaying

CommerciallyacEve VendorssellingfromboothsorcartsandstaffatacEvefacadesontothestreet

CulturallyacEve Streetperformers,musicians,guidedtours,etc

PhysicallyacEve Jogging,exercising,etc

AnE‐SocialBehavior Panhandling,illicitdruguse,andaggressiveorbelligerentbehavior

Methodology

Pedestrianpercep>onsurveysSurveys of visitors’ percepEon of the quality of the pedestrianenvironment help us understand to what extent and how currentstreet condiEons influence people’s visits to the area. The surveywasdesigned to idenEfy specificelementsof thepedestrian realmthatmaMerenoughtopeoplewhowork,live,ordobusinessintheareathatitwilldeterminewhethertheybecomerepeatvisitors.

Surveyors strove to seek a random but representaEve group ofrespondents,butthedataislimitedtoEnglish‐speakingrespondentswhowerewillingtobeinterviewed.

Businesspercep>onsurveysSurveys of business owners’ percepEon of how changes in streetcondiEonsimpacttheirbusinesshelpsusunderstandwhetherornotchanges inpedestrianacEvityaretranslaEngintoeconomicbenefitfor localbusinesses.Thesurveywasdesignedto idenEfyperceivedchangesinwhocustomersare,howtheyarearrivingatbusinesses,and the level of customers at businesses along the commercialcorridor.

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ValenciaStreetParklet

Study area:West side of Valencia Street between 22nd and 23rdStreets.

Theparklethostedby theCrepeHouseandZaytoonWrapshas sixcafé tables with chairs and is bordered by wooden planters. It isprimarily used by people who order take out from nearbyrestaurants.Thereareafewrestaurantsandbusinessesontheblock,butthere isalsoasurfaceparking lotandavacantgasstaEon,andthis stretch of Valencia Street is less acEve than other stretches ofthepopularcommercialcorridor.Beforetheparkletwasbuilt,therewere four or five café tables with chairs on the sidewalk, but nopublicseaEng.

Foottraffic On average, foot traffic on this block of Valencia Street did notchangesignificantlyaeertheparkletwasinstalled. Before the parkletwas installed, peak hour pedestrian counts onthisblockofValenciaStreetrangedbetween264and396peopleperhour.Aeer theparkletwas installed, they ranged from208 to 384.The average weekend count did increase 12% to 347 people perhour;buttheaverageweekdaycountdecreased15%to244peopleperhour. Averagebikecountsincreased20%to147perhour.

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Averagepedestriancounts

Percep>onofthestreet

 ThepercentofpeoplewhoratedtheareaposiEvely increasedforall characterisEcs except for “as a place that looks clean,” andincreased the most for “as a place to shop” an “as a place forsocializingandfun.”

 When asked what would make the area a beMer place, 24% ofpeople saidwider sidewalksormorepublic seaEng, andmany said“moreparklets”specifically.

Sta>onaryac>vi>es The average number of people recorded increased 71% fromsevento12peopleatanygivenEme. Before theparkletwas installed, thepredominantacEviEeswerestanding and simng at private seaEng. Aeer the parklet wasinstalled,thenumberofpeoplestandingdecreased,andthenumbersimngatpublicseaEngwentfromzerotosix. Thegreatest increase inacEvitywasseenon theweekday,whenaveragenumberofpeopleintheareamorethantripled.

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Forwalking

Forsocializing

andfun

Forshop

ping

Feelssafe

Looksclean

PosiEve

commun

ity

characterAveragenumberofpeopleinthestudyarea

Percentofpeoplewhoratedtheareaa“good”or“verygood”placeforeachcharacteris>c

PolkStreetParklet

Studyarea:EastsideofPolkStreetbetweenBushandSuMerStreets.

TheparklethostedbytheQuetzalCaféaddsfourtableswithchairs,fourbenches,andthreeplanterstothisblockofPolkStreet.Thecaféhas several outdoor tables on the sidewalk, but before the parklettherewasnopublicseaEngontheblockexceptfortwoseatsatthebus stop. Theparklet has beenpopular amongpatronsof the caféandresidentswholivenearby.Drugs,homelessness,andsafetyhavehistoricallybeenissuesonthisstretchofPolkStreetandsElllingerasconcernsformanypeople.

Foottraffic Onaverage,foottrafficonthisblockofPolkStreet increasedonlyslightlyaeertheparkletwasinstalled. Before the parklet was installed, peak hour pedestrian countsrangedbetween228and464peopleperhour.Aeertheparkletwasinstalled,theyrangedfrom320to368. The average weekday count did increase 30% to 350 people perhour;buttheaverageweekenddeclinedslightly.countdecreased8%to345peopleperhour. Whilenostrollerswerecountedbefore,anaverageof threewerecountedaeer. Averagebikecountsincreased65%from35to58perhourandthegreatestincreasewasseenontheweekday.

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ImageSource:TheTender.us


 OverallPolkStreetwasratedlowerbysurveyrespondentsthantheothertwostudyareas. Aeertheparkletwasinstalled,thepercentofpeoplewhoratedthearea as “good” or “very good” as a place for socializing and fun”increasedfrom74%to84%. Thepercentofpeoplewhorated itas“good”or“verygood”asaplace“thatlooksclean”increasedfrom32%to46%. WhenaskedwhatwouldmaketheareaabeMerplace,addressinghomelessness,drugs,andsafetywerethepredominantthemesbothbeforeandaeertheparkletwasinstalled.

Sta>onaryac>vi>es Theaveragenumberofpeoplerecordedintheareanearlytripled(increased191%)fromfourto11atanygivenEme. The greatest increase was seen on weekdays when the averageincreasedfromoneto14. Before the parklet was installed, the predominant acEvity wassimngatprivateseaEng.Aeertheparkletwasinstalled,therewerealsopeoplesimngonpublicandsecondaryseaEng. The average number of bikes parked in the area increased fromzero to twoaeer theparkletwas installed, indicaEngsomeof thatincreasedbiketrafficmaybestoppingtospendEmeontheblock.

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Forwalking

Forsocializing

andfun

Forshop

ping

Feelssafe

Looksclean

PosiEve

commun

ity

characterAveragenumberofpeopleinthestudyarea


StocktonStreetParklet

Studyarea:EastsideofStocktonStreetbetweenColumbusAvenueandUnionStreet.

TheparklethostedbytheTony’sPizzaNapoletanaonStocktonStreetaddsseveralcaféstyletablesandchairs,twoinformalseaEngspaces,andplanterswitharomaEcherbsandotherplants.ThisshortstretchofStocktonStreetconnectsColumbusAvenuetoWashingtonSquareParkandhostsavarietyofuses,includingaflowershop,yogastudio,medicalservices,barandtworestaurants.NorthBeachisknownforits Italian heritage and sidewalk dining, but there are few outdoorplacestositthataren’tprivatecaféseaEng.

Foottraffic AveragefoottrafficonthisblockofStocktonStreetincreased44%from304to438peopleperhour. Before the parklet was installed, peak hour pedestrian countsrangedbetween232and396peopleperhour.Aeertheparkletwasinstalled,theyrangedfrom276to588. Themostsignificantincreasewasonweekendevenings,whenfoottrafficmorethandoubledto588peopleperhour. Anaverageofsevenbikesperhourwererecordedbothbeforeandaeertheparkletwasinstalled. While no strollers were counted before, an average of six werecountedaeer.

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ImageSource:A

rchRecord.ConstrucEon.com


 Aeertheparkletwasinstalled,thegreatestchangewasseeninthepercentofpeoplewhoratedit“good”or“verygood”forcleanliness,whichincreasedfrom45%to78%. The percent of people who rated it “good” or “very good” forposiEvecommunitycharacterincreasedfrom91%to100%. Thepercentofpeoplewhorated“good”or“verygood”asaplaceforsocializingandfun”and“feelssafe”decreasedabout10%. However, the small numberof surveys collected at this collecEonmadeeachresponsedisproporEonatelysignificant.

Sta>onaryac>vi>es The average number of people recorded in the area more thandoubledfrom11to24atanygivenEme. The greatest increase was seen on weekday evenings when theaverageincreasedfromeightto23people. Before theparkletwas installed, thepredominantacEviEeswerestandingandsimngatprivateseaEng.WhilebothofthoseacEviEesincreased aeer the parklet was installed there were also morepeople simng on public seaEng and fewer simng on secondaryseaEngortheground. The average number of bikes parked in the area increased fromonetotwoaeertheparkletwasinstalled.

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Sta>onaryAc>vity

Forwalking

Forsocializing

andfun

Forshop

ping

Feelssafe

Looksclean

PosiEve

commun

ity

character


BusinessPerspecEve

BusinesssurveysSurveys were distributed to every business on the block in eachstudy area. Because only seven surveys were completed andreturnedtherearetoofewto lookatresponsesbystudyarea.Theseven businesses that replied included three retail stores, tworestaurants,abeautyparlorandabar.

 Five of the seven businesses said that most of their customersarrivebyfootandareprimarilyfromtheneighborhood. Fivesaidthatbusinessandcustomerlevelshavenotchangedsincethe installaEon of the parklet. Only one said business has beenbeMerandcustomerlevelshavebeenhigher;nonesaidbusinesshasbeenworse. Two businesses reported more customers arriving by foot andbike. No significant concerns were raised by the businesses regardingtheparklet,lossofparking,orotherimpactsontheirbusiness.

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Conclusion

ThemostsignificanttangiblebenefitofparkletsisthecreaEonofapublicspaceforanyonetosit,relax,andenjoythecityaroundthem.AtallthreelocaEonsinthisstudy,publicseaEngpriortotheparkletwas limitedtoacoupleofseatsatonebusstop.Aeertheparkletswereinstalled,thenumberofpeoplestoppingtospendEmeontheblock increased as peoplewere able to stop and sit, read a book,eat,or socializewhere therepreviouslywasn’t spacededicated forthat.

This increase in acEvity affects the overall feel of the streetdifferently for each locaEon, depending on other aspects of theoverallenvironment.OnValenciaandPolkStreetsmorepeoplefelttheareawasgoodforsocializingandfun,perhapsbecausetheysawmorepeopleoutandabout,orbecausenowthereisanewspacetomeet and socialize. On Polk and Stockton Streets the aestheEcdesign, greenery, and maintenance of the parklet may havecontributed to the increase in percepEon of cleanliness in thoseareas.

Parklets and the increase in acEvity they aMract make nearbybusinesses more visible. The number of businesses applying forparkletpermitsclearly indicates that theyseeaneconomicbenefitto invesEng in these new public spaces. Although the businesssurveysshowthisbenefitmaynotberealizedbybusinessesfurtherfrom the parklet, they did not reveal any negaEve impactsbusinessesaMributedtotheparklets.

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Appendix

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PedestrianCountsStaEonaryAcEvityCountsPedestrianSurveysBusinessSurveys

Parklet Impact Study

Documents

Transcript of Parklet Impact Study