Traverse City will at least delay a move to allow café seating in some downtown parking spaces. Monday commissioners voted to send the plan back to committee.
In addition to so-called “platform cafes,” the proposal would allow café seating on the sidewalks to take up all but four feet of the walkway. Disability advocates Monday asked the commission to leave at least five feet for pedestrians, possibly six.
“Not only am I person who uses a wheelchair, but I also have a two-year-old child, a 12 year old, a 19 year old and a husband, says Renee Louvierre Mitchell. “So, to be able to traverse down a sidewalk, it’s very important that we have the five-foot clearance.”
Beyond concerns over cafes on sidewalks, Mayor Michael Estes says he does not support the plan because it would allow cafes to take over some on-street parking spaces in the crowded downtown.
A committee has been drafting this plan since August of last year.