KANNAPOLIS — As the weather gets warmer, more people will be taking advantage of it by choosing to eat and drink outside when they visit a restaurant or go shopping. 

Last October, the Kannapolis City Council moved ahead with plans for structural improvements to its Main Street in order for it to resemble West Avenue more in appearance. One of the components to the development was to build parklets or “public seating platforms that convert curbside parking spaces into vibrant community spaces” that would permit more outdoor dining and leisure activities. 

Now, after several months of construction, the parklets on South Main Street are finally finished and it seems as though the people working right next to them are happy for not only their businesses, but the entire city. 

Wes Webb, an engineer with Alley, Williams, Carmen and King, “a multi-disciplinary architectural, engineering and surveying company,” on South Main Street, said he comes across people at all hours of the day thanks to the parklets. 

“The parking lot across the street is busier after six than it is before six,” Webb said. “It seems to be a positive improvement. There’s been a lot of activity and use. Even though it’s early spring, we see people out there all the time. We see a lot of people out there in the evenings just enjoying the features and the shops in the area.” 

Melissa Lingafelt is a supervisor manager at Marketplace on Main, an antique mall on South Main, and she and all of her vendors are delighted to see the parklets operational. 

“I think it’s been amazing. The city of Kannapolis was wonderful to work with, they understood the importance of leaving a good loading zone for all of our furniture vendors and vintage vendors here,” Lingafelt said. 

Besides the parklets, Lingafelt was also grateful for the work done on the sidewalks. 

“They widened our sidewalk, which had been pretty narrow. We have a lot of street events. All of the vendors here, we have over 180 vendors, and they are all tickled pink that there’s going to be seating,” Lingafelt said. 

Like Lingafelt, Sondra Merrill, co-owner and personal trainer at High Performance Training, is a fan of the parklets, too. 

“I love this! We were requesting these kinds of things with the city and it’s bringing a lot more people to come out, sit down on a nice day, and enjoy it,” Merrill said.

While she did hear from others that the construction of the parklets did affect their businesses, Merrill embraced it by posting on social media. 

“We posted that the road to success is met with construction,” Merrill said. 

With the city giving residents an excuse to relax and take in their surroundings at the parklets, it should help the businesses nearby even more. 

“I absolutely think having people take time on Main Street, sit down, look around, and discover what is here is absolutely good for business. Even driving by a little bit slower because you got to rubber neck a little bit,” Merrill said. 

“It encourages foot traffic. It encourages people to congregate and hang out when it’s good weather. We’re a social district, so I think it’s just all good. People sitting out there is free advertising for all these businesses,” Lingafelt said.