Temporary alfresco seating areas will be installed in Werribee’s city centre and Hoppers Junction, to allow restaurant and café customers to sit down and socialise outside.
Wyndham council announced a plan to install the “parklets” last week, under a three-month pilot period.
Wyndham mayor Josh Gilligan said the parklets would help to boost trade while COVID-19 restrictions limit the number of people allowed in eateries.
“The parklets will occupy previous car spaces that are not being used as frequently, due to many residents still working from home rather than returning to their workplace,” Cr Gilligan said.
“Residents have the opportunity to use these parklets to socialise with family and friends and breathe life back into these centres – while adhering to social distancing guidelines.“
During the next three weeks, the council will build two parklets in the Hoppers Junction Shopping Strip and four in Watton Street, Werribee.
The parklets will be owned, maintained and sanitised by council.
The Hoppers Junction parklets will be located between Jock and Mack café and Elio’s Pizza, and also Michael’s Fish n Chips and Hoppers Kebabs and Grill.
The Watton Street parklets will be located between District 3030 and Sunny Tran Bakery; between Chatterbox and Notorious Espresso cafes; between Il Piccolo and B2B cafes; and between the Black Seed and Social Sutra cafes.
The parklets will take up four angled parking spaces each, but no disabled parking spaces will be used.
District 3030 founder and operator Ami Tran said that while the impact of Covid-19 had been challenging for businesses in Wyndham, it was great to see the council’s parklet initiative being introduced to support the recent easing of restrictions.
“We still have limits on the numbers of customers we can have on-premise so creating additional space for customers to sit and have a bite is not only a welcome addition to our streetscape, it’s a way to increase business – a great innovation,” Ms Tran said.
