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Downtown Golden’s seasonal programs set for April 11 public hearing
Miners Alley restaurant seating returns; some changes drafted for parking space program
BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
With summer quickly approaching, the Golden City Council is looking to approve changes to its outdoor seating programs at an April 11 ordinance second reading and public hearing.
Earlier this year, city o cials discussed making a few changes to the parking space program, where local restaurants host outdoor seating in enclosed Washington Avenue parking spaces. e program will also now run from the third Friday in April to the rst Tuesday in November. It previously ran April 1-Oct. 31. e city will also provide ADAaccessible ramps for participating businesses. O cials previously discussed installing platforms that would raise the outdoor seating to sidewalk level, but found ramps would be more cost e ective.
City councilors and sta decided to move forward with eliminating display and retail use in the parking spaces, and only allowing outdoor dining. Display and retail can still participate in the year-round sidewalk display program.
During the March 28 City Council meeting, principal planner Lauren Simmons con rmed Golden would be hosting an April 1 meeting with downtown businesses to discuss the changes to the program.
Like the parking space program, Miners Alley will also have enclosed dining in the middle of the alley between 11th and 12th streets. Ofcials previously discussed hosting a common consumption area in the area this summer, but between the legal requirements and construction projects near the alleyway, there wasn’t enough time to implement it for this summer, Deputy City Manager Carly Lorentz clari ed later.
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e discussion is still on the table for future summers, though, if the surrounding businesses are interested, she added.
Ahead of the April 11 City Council meeting, Simmons and other city sta members said they’re drafting license agreements with businesses along Miners Alley so they can use the space.
Simmons and Lorentz emphasized how there will still be pedestrian access through the 1100 block of Miners Alley, just like the arrangement the past few summers.
e area had hosted nearby businesses’ outdoor seating, but the city discontinued that one-year pilot program last August in favor of a longer-term activation strategy.