Last Sunday, 150 owners stopped by the open house from noon to 2 PM to discuss plans to improve the lawn and café with the seven Weaver Street board members as well as Jack Haggarty, architect, and David Swanson, landscape architect.
Board members used posters to explain the highlights of the project:
- A patio where the outdoor tables are now, along with wooden decking around the trees (at the same height as the patio) to protect the trees while still allowing dining under the canopy
- Synthetic grass lawn with a stage
- Native plant border along the street with a wider public sidewalk
- Eight new shade trees planted to create a succession plan
- Larger indoor café created by extending the glass to the outer edge of the sidewalk
- A new metal roof on the west side to replace the outdoor covered seating
- Re-routed sidewalk that is no longer covered
- Bird sculpture moved to the native border area
Participants were excited about the improvements and recognized the need for better stewardship. They shared their ideas with board members and submitted written feedback on the feedback boards. Here is a summary of the feedback:
- The wooden decking to protect the trees and the native plant border got a big thumbs up, as did the wider public sidewalk.
- Many participants advocated for a fence along the sidewalk in addition to the native plant border to protect kids from the cars.
- Some thought synthetic grass was a great idea and were impressed with how natural it looked. Others thought we should use only natural material and try to grow real grass, although many remembered when the Market planted grass or sod every year only to have it disappear within weeks due to the traffic.
- There were calls for additional seating, including more tables and benches, and making sure there was enough covered outdoor seating.
- The indoor café was singled out for major improvements in both the look and feel of the space, and for a way to curtail the monopolization of seats by computer users.
The posters will be up in the store all week, so please look them over and provide feedback on the feedback boards or by email to feedback@weaverstreetmarket.coop.
Owners can come to the Co-op Fair on Sunday, April 29 to see the posters and discuss the project with board members. Free tickets are available here.