‘This is not a summer party’
Safety the focus on Stephen Avenue with pedestrian-only hours, expanded patios
Restaurants and bars along Stephen Avenue can begin expanding their patios onto the sidewalk for more space to meet physical distancing requirements, according to Calgary’s mayor.
Starting Friday, the closure of Stephen Avenue to vehicle traffic is being extended into the evening hours throughout the summer to allow the expanded patios to stay open for lunch and dinner crowds, leaving room for pedestrians to stroll. Patios can be expanded to the edge of the sidewalk with enough space between tables to prevent the spread of COVID -19 during Alberta’s economic relaunch, Mayor Naheed Nenshi said Thursday.
“After 11 a.m., only pedestrians and cyclists will be allowed on Stephen Avenue,” said Nenshi. “This is not a street festival. This is not a summer party on Stephen Avenue or a place to come and hang out on the street. What this is about is supporting those local businesses. Come in and have dinner or lunch.”
It’s great news for Nathan Moore, general manager of Local, who is glad his staff and customers will have more space to practise safe physical distancing.
“Our patio was small to begin with, so to have that extra space is nice,” said Moore, noting that their expanded patio will seat about 24 people with proper distancing. “It’s not so much about the number of seats for us as it is making sure that we’re providing a safe environment for our guests and our staff.”
He said his business “fought tooth and nail” to survive while dining in was restricted. The closure to vehicle traffic and expanded patios on Stephen Avenue will help restaurants recover from their losses, Moore said.
Nick Smerek, general manager of Social Beer Haus, said the changes will make a huge difference in serving guests safely.
“Especially on 8th Avenue, we don’t have these huge restaurants, so when we add two metres between tables our capacity isn’t even 50 per cent. We would be running at a 30 to 40 per cent capacity with us being conscious of the rules we’re given by (Alberta Health Services),” said Smerek.
Calgarians crave patio season after a long winter and, without the expansion, many restaurants along the avenue wouldn’t be able to seat more than a handful of people at a time, Smerek said. “Without this, the struggle to actually open again would be tenfold.”
Last week, Nenshi expressed concerns that businesses might need vehicle traffic, such as taxi cabs, directly to their storefront.
After a survey of businesses by the Calgary Downtown Association showed the vast majority wanted the change to traffic and patios, the mayor’s attitude toward the “experiment” shifted.
“Now that I know that the businesses are behind it, I’m very happy to try this experiment. This does not necessarily mean that we will go to no traffic on Stephen Avenue ever again, all year round. More work would need to be done before that,” said Nenshi.
Calgary Downtown Association general manager Jennifer Rempel said deliveries of supplies and money will be arranged by businesses between 6 a.m. and 11 a.m. to keep vehicles off the streets.
But the downtown association will also work with businesses who need to receive deliveries outside of those hours.
“Right now, with downtown workers not coming to work, these businesses are really requiring that evening patio,” said Rempel.
Coun. Druh Farrell said sharing space is necessary to support local businesses and Stephen Avenue is an easy place to start because it’s built for pedestrians.
Although, a trial run is being conducted along 17th Avenue S.W., closing the curb lane to traffic in front of several restaurants and bars so patios can expand there, too.
“If we want businesses to survive this crisis we need to respond and recognize their needs. Right now, businesses need more space to provide safe distancing and critical mass to make ends meet,” said Farrell.