Update on Streateries in Tucson

[Image: Bistro tables, umbrellas surrounded on three sides by planters and railing to form a streatery]

Last month, Tucson Mayor Regina Romero and City Council took a big step forward in making Streateries something that will continue to be in Tucson well beyond the pandemic.

Streateries—which essentially transform on street parking into extended dining space—were something that Tucson approved of as an emergency measure during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the emergency declaration set to expire, Mayor & Council were faced with a difficult decision about what to do with all of the current streateries that had been established. If nothing was done and the expiration came and went, all streateries would have had to have been taken down. Instead, Mayor & Council approved of an 18 month extension during which existing streateries can remain intact and a formal and permanent streatery program can be developed.

[Listen to a KJZZ interview with our Executive Director on streateries and streets as public spaces.]

Living Streets Alliance spent the first half of 2021 working with Tucson Dept. of Transportation & Mobility (DTM) and FORS Architects to explore streateries, parklets, and other public shared [streets] spaces and make recommendations on what a broader “Shared Spaces” program could look like for Tucson. During that time, the team explored how to make each of these concepts more mainstream and easier to permit and implement. While the parklet and pop-up portions of the program still have a bit more to be explored and refined, the City made tremendous progress on drafting a manual for restaurants and establishments looking to establish streateries down the road.

We’re excited and encouraged to see so much movement on the Streatery side of things and look forward to continuing to explore how more of our shared public streets can become flexible places for people. Based on the parklet pop-up earlier this year, Tucsonans are definitely supportive!