Boy Scouts bring budding parklet to bloom over Berkeley’s upper Solano Avenue

by christopher

May 11, 2017

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Myles Halpern from the Berkeley’s Boy Scout Troop 6, works on one of the trash boxes as part of a new parklet on Solano Avenue in Berkeley, Calif., Saturday, May 13, 2017. The parklet is being built by the boys scouts under the direction of Eagle Scout candidate Emmet Hegarty. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

EAST BAY TIMES — A Boy Scout troop is helping to build a parklet on upper Solano Avenue as part of a collaborative project supported by UC Berkeley, local businesses and the city.

The new parklet, which awaits a few finishing touches, is in front of Zachary’s Chicago Pizza and Pegasus Books. It is the fourth in a 10-parklet, three-year city pilot project.

“Parklets are small public parks, built in parking spaces that functionally widen the sidewalk and provide a place to sit, watch, and enjoy the neighborhood,” said city spokesman Matthai Chakko.

The Solano Avenue Business Improvement District, Zachary’s, and Pegasus received a $10,000 grant from the UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Community Partnership Fund to initiate the project, according to the city.