October 06, 2026
Molly McVety/PhillyVoice
Two city-approved designs for streeteries will be on displayed in LOVE Park through at least Thanksgiving.
Two city-approved streetery designs are on display on the southeast corner of LOVE Park as officials look to streamline the heavily scrutinized permitting policy for restaurants to add outdoor dining.
The structures will remain up until at least Thanksgiving, and officials are asking the public to check out the two prototypes and provide feedback using survey links at the site.
One of the barriers is made of composite recycled plastic and resembles a picket fence. It comes with an option to add planters along the top surface that separates the diners and the street. The other barricade is made of rust-free aluminum and is a shorter, more rounded shape.
Both designs were built to fit within a standard parking lane on Philly’s streets and take up the width of a typical storefront, but they can be adjusted as needed. The exteriors can also be customized with a business' colors or logo.
Anyone can visit the streeteries daily from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and scan the QR codes located on the corresponding tables to share feedback on the safety, comfort and appearance.
Karen Fegely, acting commerce director, said the city aims to have the survey wrapped up by the end of November, tweak designs accordingly and have them approved by the end of the year so they can be available for businesses by summer 2027.
Restaurants don't have to use the city's designs, but if they do, the streetery will already have approval from the Streets Department. Fegely said the new designs were implemented to help owners navigate the permitting process, which has been criticized for its high costs, slow approval process and strict rules. As of Tuesday, Philadelphia has only 32 active streetery licenses.
"It's tricky to navigate city streets and sidewalks and make sure you're following all the rules … but once these are formally approved, the designs will be available to any restaurant that wants to build a streetery," she said. "This way, it just saves them some time and money to be able to more affordably and quickly build something that they know will get approved by the Streets Department."
The city will display two potential streetery designs in front of LOVE Park through at least Thanksgiving. Above, an option made of rust-free aluminum.
Dine Outdoors Philadelphia, the program that oversees the practice of outdoor dining citywide, requires that food businesses complete a pre-requisite approval application from the Streets Department and print and post a public notice on all street-facing sides of the building before applying for a streetery license, which costs $1,750 annually.
Any modifications to the structure must be approved by the Streets Department. There are also restrictions that prevent streeteries from being built in flood hazard areas or near manholes, water inlets, fire hydrants, crosswalks, stop signs or other utility access points or pedestrian safety accessories.
A 2024 report from City Controller Christy Brady found that the outdoor dining structures create a "vibrant" environment for residents and visitors, but the city's process is unnecessarily costly, time-consuming and complex. Several long-time Philly establishments, including South Street's Bob & Barbara's and the now-shuttered Pumpkin BYOB, were forced to scrap expensive outdoor dining plans at the request of the city's Streets Department.
By standardizing the design process, the city said it hopes it can expedite the turnaround time for at least one part of the permitting process.
"There are very serious safety and other regulations we need to abide by, so it made it trickier to negate how wide, how deep, how to make (streeteries) crash-safe," Fegely said. "This is our response to the restaurant community that needed a little more help to get this done."
