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MONROVIAWEEKLY
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VOL. 25, NO. 25
Expanded outdoor dining to continue despite parking challenges in some SGV cities Terry MILLER tmiller@beaconmedianews.com
W
ith the enormous changes and challenges incurred as a result of the pandemic over the last 16 months, many businesses suffered immense losses. Many could not recover. Restaurants felt the pain instantly and had to adapt to rapid changes with not only public health department codes, but customers’ anxiety regarding COVID-19 transmission. Like many California cities, some in the San Gabriel Valley — like Monrovia, Sierra Madre and Pasadena — were quick to adjust to the modifications and, in light of necessity, became very inventive. Parking lots were turned into impromptu al fresco dining destinations and, even during inclement weather, diners were quick to embrace the popular European style of dining.
State and local officials have taken notice of the popularity of these new dining habits and earlier this month, Gov. Gavin Newsom extended relaxed regulations allowing outdoor dining expansions and to-go cocktails, at least through the end of the year. State Senator Scott Weiner introduced a bill “proposing to ease restrictions on outdoor dining, which would not only make parklets permanent but also make serving alcohol in parklets easier, only relying on existing liquor licenses,” Eater SF reports. There are, however, some drawbacks. In Sierra Madre, for example, there were initial concerns about parking spaces, but those trepidations were quelled by the city. “Initially we had concerns about parking and that patios would reduce available space. In response to this we completed a parking survey that showed
Temporary structures, like the one at Basin 141 in Old Town Monrovia, will likely stay put until the end of the calendar year | Photo by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News
we had a surplus of parking, but we still converted several 2-hour spots to 20-minute spots, hired a parking enforcement officer to patrol downtown, and added spaces in areas that could handle a few more spots,” said City Manager Gabreil L. Engeland. “Sierra Madre also took additional safety precautions, including bollards, fencing, raised platforms, planters with
reflectors, and reducing the speed in the business district to 15 miles per hour.” The Sierra Madre City Council agreed to extend the restaurant enhanced dining options and to make the option permanent at their last meeting. “This will allow for patio dining, enhanced sidewalk dining, and make changes to the Code that will make
it easier for businesses to operate,” England told Beacon Media News Monday morning. Lauren Vasquez, assistant city manager for the City of Monrovia, told Beacon that the city “continues to evaluate” the al fresco/parking situation but complaints have been minimal. Vasquez said that both the state and county are aligned with allowing
outdoor dining to continue until at least the end of December 2021. Additionally, as the movie theater will be reopening at the end of July — the first time since the pandemic forced its sudden closure but now under the name LOOK Dine-in Cinema — the al fresco dining arrangement See Outdoor dining page 9