Aldermen set to discuss Elm Street outdoor seating return

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Screenshot 2021 02 15 at 10.29.19 AM
An example of extended sidewalk dining arrangement in Boston, Mass., one of several images included with the Feb. 16 BMA meeting packet.

MANCHESTER, NH – As the Queen City prepares for warm weather to return and the COVID-19 pandemic to die down, the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BMA) are preparing discuss bringing back outdoor dining on Elm Street.

If approved at Tuesday’s BMA meeting, parking spaces along Elm Street between Merrimack Street and Bridge Street would be blocked off with jersey barriers to allow outdoor dining for any restaurants seeking to provide more socially distanced dining options for their customers.

The outdoor dining is optional and without cost to the restaurants, although they will have to pay normal encumbrance fees either way.

City officials are expecting approximately 20 of the 120 parking spaces in the area along Elm Street to be used. During normal times, this would cost the city approximately $44,200 in parking fees. However, it’s assumed that the additional outdoor seating may help some of the restaurants survive during this difficult time as it did during 2020 according to the testimony of several restaurant owners to the BMA. It’s also unclear whether foot and vehicle traffic will return to what it was before the pandemic.

If approved by the BMA on Tuesday, restaurants will have until April 30 to apply for spots. The first outdoor seating will commence on March 15 and continue until November 7, weather permitting.

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About this Author

Andrew Sylvia

Assistant EditorManchester Ink Link

Born and raised in the Granite State, Andrew Sylvia has written approximately 10,000 pieces over his career for outlets across Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. On top of that, he's a licensed notary and licensed to sell property, casualty and life insurance, he's been a USSF trained youth soccer and futsal referee for the past six years and he can name over 60 national flags in under 60 seconds according to that flag game app he has on his phone, which makes sense because he also has a bachelor's degree in geography (like Michael Jordan). He can also type over 100 words a minute on a good day.