Orlando updates rules for downtown restaurant parklet program

ORLANDO, Fla. — Editor’s note: This story is available as a result of a content partnership between WFTV and the Orlando Business Journal.

Orlando has changed up its Covid-19-era downtown parklet program for restaurants and other businesses.

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The Orlando City Council on July 15 unanimously approved new rules for the outdoor restaurant seating in on-street parking spaces, which was set to expire July 18 in its current form. The city originally launched the parklets during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic as a way to allow businesses to operate under indoor capacity restrictions and later extended the program on July 19, 2021.

Orlando officials said the updated rules have the goal of moving away from the use of “temporary Covid-era wooden flower box parklets and water-filled transportation barriers” to create a more permanent solution. The new policy — separate from sidewalk cafes — includes rules around the review process for a parklet, safety requirements and the process for removal.

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Click here to read the full story on the Orlando Business Journal’s website.

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