photo by: Chad Lawhorn

Limestone Pizza and Alchemy Coffee are among two of the downtown restaurants on Thursday that were unofficially marking curbside pickup spots in the 800 block of Massachusetts Street. The city on Friday will begin officially marking spaces for downtown businesses that request it.

The City of Lawrence is offering increased visibility for downtown businesses that continue to offer products while observing social distancing and other restrictions put in place by health officials to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

The local health department has prohibited public gatherings of more than 10 people and ordered all restaurants, dining facilities, bars, taverns, nightclubs and movie theaters closed to the public to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Restaurants can still provide drive-thru, pickup and delivery services.

After some businesses began taking their own steps to mark off curbside pickup spaces — Limestone Pizza and Alchemy Coffee placed makeshift markers near stalls in the 800 block of Massachusetts Street — the city said in a news release Thursday that it would be creating free temporary curbside parking stalls for businesses in downtown Lawrence in an effort to protect the community’s health and safety and support local businesses. Customers will be able to utilize the officially marked city stalls for quick curbside and/or carry-out orders starting Friday.

Downtown businesses interested in utilizing the city’s service can email the city parking division at parking@lawrenceks.org. The email should include the name and address of the business, contact name and number, and the meter number the business would like to use as the reserved stall. Meter numbers are white and can be found on the street side of the meter pole.

Once the email is received, parking staff will create and install the sign in the desired stall. No further action is required from the business. If business owners have questions about the new option, they can email the parking division.