City could close streets to open options for pubs, restaurants

An expansion of restaurant patios onto sidewalks and streets will be facilitated by the City of Kelowna wherever possible, Mayor Colin Basran says.

As restaurants prepare to re-open for the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-March, outdoor dining is expected to be a main part of their owners’ revised business model.

“Absolutely the City of Kelowna will be working on ways to allow more space for our restaurants, pubs, cafes, in whatever way that may look, depending on where they’re located,” Basran said Wednesday.

The B.C. government has said it will allow restaurants to re-open by May 19, but it’s expected many will remain closed for several weeks beyond that date as they reconfigure their operations to comply with new operating rules.

Those rules will cover such things as reduced capacities, enhanced cleaning protocols, and greater separation between tables.

While some cities have closed streets to traffic to encourage greater pedestrian activity during the pandemic, that hasn’t occurred in Kelowna. But Basran suggested it soon would happen, with a priority given to closures that would also provide some extra patio space to restaurants.

“It’s 100 per cent something that we’re looking into and we’ll be following suit in some capacity,” he said. “It’s too early right now to tell you which streets we’ll be closing, and where, and for how long.

“We want to allow establishments to maybe have some extra capacity when we know they’re going to be losing some due to the physical distancing requirements,” he said.

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