Outdoor drinking on tap for downtown Fayetteville

FAYETTEVILLE -- The city is planning to activate outdoor drinking zones next week.

Beginning Wednesday, people will be able to buy drinks on the go as they walk around downtown. The streets included in the outdoor refreshment area program cover most of the Dickson Street entertainment district and the square.

The boundary roughly covers Lafayette Street to the north, East Avenue, Mountain Street to the south and West Avenue. One trail to the south stretches along School Avenue from Mountain Street to Prairie Street. Another trail to the west reaches Powerhouse Avenue.

The program will be in effect 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day. Businesses have the option to participate. They will sell drinks inside, in disposable, green-striped cups the city will provide, to customers who can then take the drinks out the door. Cups can't be brought into businesses or given to other people. The cups are environmentally friendly, and extra recycling receptacles will be set up around downtown. Customers also have to wear branded wristbands, provided to businesses by the city. Servers will ask for identification with every order, even if the customer is wearing a wristband.

Signs will be placed on the designated streets to let participants know where the boundary lies.

The city will host multiple orientation sessions for businesses to go over the rules and answer any questions. Staff anticipates 20-30 businesses will participate.

Business owners asked the program take place seven days a week to avoid confusion, Economic Vitality Director Devin Howland said. Many asked it begin before students at the University of Arkansas return to campus, he said. The days and times of the programs could change.

Several bars have been closed with no revenue for up to four months because of the pandemic, Howland said. Unemployment benefits for many employees are coming to an end, and the state reinstated the search for work requirement, meaning businesses need to open, he said.

"Expansion to seven days a week helps them remove the choice between economic gain and safety of staff by enabling establishments to operate solely on a to-go basis," Howland said.

The boundary, spanning most of downtown, is designed to "de-intensify" the district, Howland said. Broadening the outdoor refreshment area, rather than designating only Dickson Street or the downtown square, will deconcentrate people, he said.

"We need folks to spread out," Howland said. "And it's much more characteristic of what we had hoped to achieve with this district -- it's not about a party."

In a separate move Tuesday, the City Council waived a number of the fees and review processes associated with setting up a sidewalk cafe or parklet outside a business.

The city has had a sidewalk cafe ordinance for a number of years. However, many of the sidewalks downtown are narrow, which has hindered businesses from applying to have one, Development Services Director Garner Stoll said.

Businesses with paid parking spaces in front of their doors will be able to use up to three of the spaces to install a parklet. Parklets usually look like picnic tables outside with plants and other objects or fencing to separate people from cars on the street.

There has to be some type of buffer, per the ordinance, which will be reviewed by city staff with an application. Parklets or sidewalk cafes also must be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Nothing permanent can be installed.

Businesses must pay the daily rate per parking space taken up by a parklet or sidewalk cafe. In the Dickson Street entertainment district, it's $5 per day per space. In and around the square, it's $2.50 per space per day, Parking Manager Justin Clay said.

In other business, the city so far has spent $73,000 to buy 242,000 masks. About 110,000 masks have been distributed to businesses to give to residents for free, Chief Financial Officer Paul Becker said.