Shawnee to consider extending sidewalk for outdoor seating downtown during COVID-19 pandemic

Shawnee will consider allowing restaurants and bars to have temporary outdoor seating along Johnson Drive downtown. To accommodate downtown businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, Shawnee city staff on Monday proposed a plan similar to what Leawood now offers for the food and drink service industry: Extended outdoor seating. Shawnee’s plan would include parklets. Parklets are sidewalk extensions — decks built in parallel parking spaces adjacent to restaurants and bars — where guests could sit, dine, wait or recreate. Shawnee proposes allowing parklets in parallel parking spaces on Johnson Drive. The decks must allow stormwater to drain, so they can be elevated to curb level. The parklets must also be accessible.
(Read more: Prairie Village Post)