I wonder if the seating is far enough away from the restaurant to allow patrons to smoke. Because if yes, then I can see this type of seating becoming very very popular with many of the local dive bars in town.

I have seen this done other places but almost always on less traveled streets, or pedestrian only areas.
NW Everett is a main arterial off the I-405 and on down to the Steele Bridge. Large trucks use that street all the time.
Just wait till someone gets killed having a coffee and a smoko.
But "cars are evil"...
I wonder how many of these decks have been approved?
Only 125 more days to go!

People keep referring to the number of days until a new administration is installed at the City of Portland.

I am very curious what these folks believe is going to change that day.

Here's the PBOT's website on the "Street Seats" program:

http://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/59158

Initial takeaway: There's going to be more of it.

Will this be called, "Dignity Dinner Dining"?

Exactly what kind of building permit is required for these structures? I'd be curious to hear what the restaurants' insurance carriers have to say about this customer facility.

At night, they can (and probably will) be easily converted to homeless sleeping/toilet facilities. It appears human feces will be easily hosed into the street storm sewers at minimal effort by restaurant staff.

Once the "plan" is fully implemented, there won't be any buses, trucks, or cars to worry about, only earth and health friendly bicycles.

According to be PBOT you have to get approval from approval from your next door neighbors but what businesses in the next block or across the street? Two less parking spaces for their customers.

A little more lumber on the sides & top, ya got a coffin for a party of 10. Zombie Porch seating!

Who in their right mind would want to dine in the street? Can this be any more unappetizing? Gads. I can just picture some asshats driving by an chucking crap out of car window onto a table and thinking it's funny. Trucks belching exhaust. Horrid.
Just another part of plan to make Portland car less.

I always thought the transportation depts. had standards for street width depending upon the neighborhood and traffic volume. Nothing I've ever seen would allow so much of a street's width to be co-opted for non-transit related use. I imagine there are a lot of traffic engineers in Portland tearing out their hair about now.

Speaking of noise . . . I recently stopped by a restaurant downtown on the MAX line with a friend because she recommended it. We literally couldn't hear ourselves speak over the roar of the passing MAX. I don't think I want to repeat that dining experience and more's the pity for any luckless restaurant situated downtown on the MAX line. I don't know how these places manage to compete with the food carts.

Those "street seats" are crazy. They're unsafe and allowing them provides the nearby property owners and restaurant operators with free land. I wonder what level of campaign contribution is required to convince city officials to create one.

Well they do have to pay a $459 dollar fee and they have to be out by 1-1-1

They do have airbags, no?

This is a ready made smoking area as well as a poor attempt to emulate the Parisian street cafe culture. It's also a huge giveaway of the public right of way to private business owners. That 200 sq. ft. at $30 a sq. ft. is a $6,000 value on an annual basis.

From LoopNet the average price for Portland metro retail space to buy is $145 per sq/ft. At 200 sq/ft per parking space that is $29,000.

If you rent the same space it would be $3200 per month.

Why is public space being given away for a $459 fee that probably doesn't even cover all the CoP paper work cost?

And what are all the ZIP car type parking spaces paying? Not enough. Now the Zip car people are in competition with restaurants. Soon there won't be any space for vehicles.

History shows that public access/movement in public right-of-ways has always been one of the leading requirements since mankind decided to live in close proximity.

It's just going to take one absent minded driver to put it in "D" instead of "R" and this "Street Seats" program is over. What an insanely dumb idea.

The businesses must be doing this as a way to increase or improve business. The city is working with them. Shouldn't this be applauded?

Two parking spaces are lost for maybe a dozen more patrons.

And it looks like a temporary structure that can be removed when the weather changes.

So if customers like it and the business does well, why complain?

If that's wood and not composite, the first spark from a tail pipe that lands on that deck is going to set that platform ablaze.

I'm still waiting for children's play areas to be built in the middle of streets as traffic calming "devices".

BTW, the first time and every subsequent time i drive past one of these, I'm laying on the horn and blowing some serious carbon out of the tailpipe to give these folks an authentic taste of street dining. If you have the ability to do burnouts, all the better.

I see this as another desperate attempt by the "plan group" in Adams office to come up with ways to get more revenue in. Have you all noticed lately the myriad of new "inventive" ways to get more cash going, most likely to keep the doors open and from going bankrupt while Sam is in office. . . or to cover for that they have given our tax dollars for other projects not needed.

By the way, I also wanted to mention this looks like a cattle corral of sorts.
I can't imagine anyone wanting to sit out there on the street but if the place is fancy/popular, a sheep mentality will be in line to do so.

Wondering if there's a way to meld this concept with the one about just paving the center of the street.

Since these things are in the public right-of-way, can I just bring my own lunch to eat and they can't kick me out?

I just wouldn't want to sit, relax, and eat in traffic. Especially on a busy street. Why is appealing?

Don't get mad, get even: Can I take up my favorite street space for my own profitable business purposes (i.e. parking my car so I can go to work)?

This is another chapter in social engineering. "If you weren't driving a car, you'd already be here having fun by now. Good luck parking."

My husband and I couldn't get permission to remove an ILLEGALLY installed driveway from our front yard because replacing 1 subcode driveway space that flooded a basement with 1 properly constructed on-street space that didn't flood a basement was considered by the City to be "taking away" parking. We were told that Traffic trumped everything--even if we filed a $16K zoning appeal we'd lose. Because nothing, even a flooded basement, is more important than preserving a city parking space.

For Southeast plebes like us, that is.

But if you're a Precious Pearl and need a little extra space for your lavender compote, well that's just different.

These decks are owned by the business so no you can't just take your own lunch and sit on the deck and eat your lunch. Just like if someone parked a truck at that spot you can't jump into the bed of the truck and eat your lunch.$459 may not sound like much for the city to rent that space but still the deck is owned by the business on rented city land.

may include additional costs, such as compensation for lost parking meter revenue, a Café Seating permit and charges for street sign changes.

Lost parking meter revenue? I wonder if the city charges an "exit fee" for businesses that close their doors too?

Jon - There's an exit interview but by the time Sam's Club gets through the paperwork, the hapless business is long gone.

I only think this is a good idea if they allow the "exotic dance" bars to expand out to the parking "strips"...

Tim, I think "exotic dance bars" could expand into these parking strips. There's no restriction in the app exclusive to dining. Equity.

Oregon Constitution Article I, Section 8 probably has enough wiggle room for street strippers.