Permits for outdoor dining parklets have been extended through Dec. 31, but Baltimore City will not issue any new parklet permits until it revises its policy for extended outdoor dining, the city’s transportation department announced last week.
The city is revising its expanded outdoor dining policy to establish annual permits for outdoor dining; formalize design standards; and improve safety for pedestrians, diners and other road users.
During that revision process, the city will not issue any new outdoor dining parklet permits until the updated policy is implemented.
The transportation department plans to release a draft policy for public comment this summer, and it expects the revised policy will go into effect on or around Jan. 1.
Baltimore first expanded its outdoor dining program to include parklets in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic forced many restaurants to shift their services outdoors to reduce the spread of coronavirus.
The revised Outdoor Dining Program will not be part of the city’s new Community Led Placemaking Program, which includes artistic painting on streets or sidewalks, landscape planting, traffic calming efforts, and other projects to create more lively, welcoming and unique community spaces.
