City officials have extended the temporary closure of the Columbus Area Arts Council (CAAC) Sixth Street Arts Alley Parklet for another three months.
The space has been closed temporarily since May with the aim of activating the half-block area between Washington Street and the alleyway to the east as a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly community space.
Columbus Board of Public Works and Safety members approved an event application to continue the temporary closure of the parklet through Oct 31. The closure is to support a range of programming— concerts, art installations, community gatherings and general creativity.
The parklet is technically a city street and can often be found with people reading or sitting down on custom stools to take a break.
It was designed by the LAA Office architectural firm and created with support from Force Construction, Force Design and Heritage Fund: The Bartholomew County Community Foundation.
It features a 10,000-square-foot ground-plane mural, colorful furniture, lots of shade, free public Wi-Fi and the electrical capacity for concerts and vendors.
In addition to regular CAAC programming, it’s been used to host a wide spectrum of events through Landmark Columbus Foundation, Viewpoint Books, Turning Point and Black History Month Columbus.
The space has also played host to several musical performances from Southern Indiana Taiko, Columbus Indiana Children’s Choir and Banister Family Bluegrass Band, among others.
CAAC Executive Director Brooke Hawkins told board members there’s been quite a bit of “passive use” of the space.
“It’s been a destination for a running group to come and kind of refuel there. I see families coming in with books from Viewpoint or the library and reading,” Hawkins told board members. “So it’s really being used in ways that we hoped that it would be, but also ways that surprised me.”
One such surprise, Hawkins mentioned, is when a group of kids stopped by, dropped down a board, and had a breakdancing competition.
“I didn’t know that there were breakdancers in Columbus, and there’s not a better place in Columbus to do breakdancing than on Sixth Street in the arts alley,” she said.
Casual use of the space is first-come-first-served, and it remains open to the public even during planned events. However, people interested in organizing an event in the parklet where more than 50 people are expected to attend, or if alcohol is being served are required to apply for an event permit through the city first.
Anyone interested in using the space is encouraged to follow this decision tree to get an idea of what sort of procedural steps need to be taken.
CAAC also conducted a survey to seek input on what the community thinks of the space, as well as what else they’d like to see there.
After Oct. 31, city officials will look at how the space was activated during the past six months and city council members will make a determination about whether it should be permanent.
