Photo: The Canadian Press
A server cleans a table on the patio of a restaurant, in Vancouver, on Friday, April 2, 2021. COVID-19 Canadian cities are showing the benefits of extended patio programs for businesses and citizens, but experts say that cities in the middle of transitioning to permanent versions of temporary policies are undermining the improvements brought about by the pandemic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
At the height of social distancing and other restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, many Canadian cities have launched temporary patio policies, waiving rules and waiving fees for in bars and restaurants looking to seat more customers outside.
These programs bring a glimmer of hope – and income – to businesses forced to close their doors, allowing them to offer more dining out to citizens eager to leave their homes.
Now, as cities transition to their new normal post-pandemic, experts say patios need better standardization across the board to make them more accessible, as also very informative for businesses that are still trying to make up for lost sales.
“It’s something that has become an obvious no-brainer for better streets and better neighborhoods and better cities,” said city planning consultant Brent Toderian, who is also the former chief planner of Vancouver.
“So it’s amazing how bad a job we’ve done.”
When the pandemic hit, restaurants and bars closed their doors, used takeout services or went dark altogether, and the extended patio was a lifeline for many businesses.
“The pandemic is a small forced pilot program,” said James DiPaolo, a senior partner at Urban Strategies.
“Cities are finding creative ways to adapt, and they’re being forced to do it on a much faster timetable than they’re used to.”
Three years later, the transition to the new normal looks different wherever you look, with some municipalities making temporary changes permanent while others are reversing them.
But advocates have been sounding the alarm about sidewalk and curbside patio accessibility problems for years, and say any permanent solution must have appropriate accessibility standards. Meanwhile, businesses are looking for predictability as they make plans and investments for the future, but some municipalities are complaining about delays and delays in the approval process.
Many Toronto businesses are seeing patio permits that were previously approved during the pandemic years now being denied for a variety of reasons, or are facing delays in obtaining permits even as summer continues, he said. by Tracy Macgregor, Ontario vice-president for Restaurants Canada.
“That’s where the frustration comes in, because they can’t hit the ground running on these patios,” he said.
The city’s CaféTO program is an example of the “red tape” that can occur when policies are poorly designed, Toderian said.
“If you walk around Montreal, you’ll see more (patios). So that suggests their system is more effective,” he said.
“It’s part of their overall attitude to the public realm, which is better than any other city in North America.”
In some cases pandemic patios actually improve accessibility, says Maayan Ziv, founder and CEO of AccessNow. For example, businesses that may not have had access to indoor space before can do so with more outdoor space, he said.
But in other cases they introduce new obstacles, he said.
“No public money should go to the installation of new barriers, no permits or approvals should be given to businesses that do not consider access points in these areas.”
Over time, urban settings have become less accessible, said David Lepofsky, chair of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance. Pandemic patio programs are just one example, he said, noting that early iterations often make pedestrians walk down the street.
Changes announced early in 2023 to Toronto’s program include “uniform platforms for accessibility,” according to the city, along with a transition period to make necessary changes and provide program for businesses and BIA.
Lepofsky said that while each municipality is looking for a permanent solution, there is a patchwork situation that is developing, even if the duty to accommodate goes beyond the city’s borders.
“If you leave it up to each municipality to reinvent the wheel of access, they can’t, or risk getting it wrong. And you’re burdening people with disabilities in every community who have to fight about it,” said Lepofsky, who wants to see provincial accessibility standards for outdoor seating areas.
Widespread, uniform access benefits everyone, not just people with disabilities, Lepofsky said, including increasing the base of potential customers for businesses.
“We just need to make sure there’s an access plan built into all these projects,” Ziv said. That could be as simple as ensuring an easy access road or educating and training restaurant staff, he said.
“I would like to see it widely adopted in every municipality, as opposed to a case-by-case basis,” said Ziv.
Toderian agreed that patio programs should be approached in a standardized way, rather than a program that requires a case-by-case review of patio designs as others do.
“It’s no wonder these things don’t get done faster,” he said.
Both Calgary and Edmonton appear to have clear and helpful guidelines for their patios, DiPaolo said, helping businesses figure out what their patio should look like instead of “starting from scratch in every case. “
In Calgary, the city is waving fees for patio permits again this year. In 2022 it made permanent the extended patio program, with permits valid for three years, according to the city’s website.
Along 17th Avenue, a popular area of bars and restaurants, a local business group decided to join in to smooth out the patio season.
The 17th Ave Business Improvement Area last year invested in building an extended boardwalk system that runs along the sidewalks, explained executive director Tulene Steistol. Seating is set up on the sidewalks in front of the businesses, while pedestrians walk the boardwalk without having to watch for servers and patrons crossing between the restaurant and the patio seating.
This makes the patios safer for diners and pedestrians and more attractive for businesses, Steiestol said, noting that the BIA made changes after feedback from the access committee. in the town.
Steiestol thinks that municipalities should help pay for projects like this, which would help them become more widespread.
“We have municipalities coming down, and their own teams from other municipalities looking at what we’ve done,” he said.
Some communities are taking pandemic patios in stride, enforcing pedestrian-only street hours and bringing in live music and public art, DiPaolo said.
“My hope as a planner is that … the success of these programs can be used for more permanent improvements in the public realm,” he said.
“Instead of building a makeshift patio on the street during the summer months, maybe we’ll talk about widening the public boulevard, where these issues of accessibility and mobility and safety are actually built into the streetscape design rather than being addressed through the consent process that takes place. every year.”