Plaza / Parklet
FAC-PLZ-07 Recommended Facility
Plaza / Parklet
A public gathering space reclaimed from roadway or parking space, ranging from a single parking-space-sized parklet to a full intersection-corner plaza.
Why this pattern exists
Streets historically allocate nearly all their space to vehicle movement and storage; this pattern documents the deliberate conversion of some of that space into space for people to sit, gather, and linger, a use case with its own siting, furnishing, and drainage considerations distinct from a sidewalk widening alone.
Key considerations
- Site selection should account for sun exposure, adjacent building frontage activity, and pedestrian flow; a plaza with no reason to stop rarely gets used2
- Drainage must be resolved deliberately, since converted roadway space was not designed to shed water toward a pedestrian-occupied surface1
- Where a parklet occupies a former parking space, physical protection from adjacent traffic (bollards, curb, planters) is necessary, not optional
Related patterns
Curb Extension (ELM-CBE-02) (related Element pattern, since a plaza often anchors at a curb extension or corner); Bench (ELM-BCH-31), Street Tree (ELM-STT-28) (common furnishing elements)
References
- Precedent-based WSDOT Design Manual, Chapter 1238, "Parklets and Plazas." Drainage, catch-basin avoidance, and railing/planter separation from traffic.
- Precedent-based NACTO Urban Street Design Guide, "Parklets, Pop-ups and Street Seats." Siting principles (sun exposure, adjacent frontage activity).