The move follows several weeks of occupation by People's Park support running a 'free store' that distributed supplies to residents in need.
Telegraph Business Improvement District Executive Director Alex Knox said in an interview Friday: "We really think this is a really important spot aesthetically, for just the pedestrian environment, and are trying to do whatever we can to make it just make it nice for people, while it's not really a usable space."
Knox described the planters as a temporary facelift to the area, which was opened to the public in October after being closed following its designation as a median in 2019.
He said he hopes that the slip lane that allows drivers to make a right-hand turn onto Telegraph Avenue from Dwight Way will be closed to traffic so that a larger pedestrian plaza can be built at the location.
Until last week, People's Park supporters were using the location as a 24-hour mutual aid station, which opened during the protests that followed the Jan. 3 clearing of People's Park by law enforcement officials. The dissolution of the 'free store' located there was organic, with organizers trading its semi-permanent setup for pop-up aid stations.
Activists attempted to replicate the mutual aid situation that was present in People's Park up until Jan. 2, but ran into challenges.
Within a few hours of the installation of the planters, a group of Berkeley residents rearranged them to create community sitting space at the location, spending a portion of Friday and Saturday socializing there.
