Council approves permanent summer patio expansions
Expanded restaurant patios will be in Calgary to stay, but with more accessibility planning and hopefully a little less orange.
City council unanimously approved a motion Wednesday to allow permanent seasonal patio extensions. Bars and restaurants have spilled out into parking lots and onto public sidewalks since the summer of 2020, as the city looked for a way to support businesses that had been forced to close or significantly cut capacity because of public health precautions.
The patios have been open between roughly April and October, and they've been well-used, especially in busy areas such as the Beltline and Kensington. But people have also complained that they pose major accessibility problems, since they force pedestrians to detour onto the road to get around them.
People who use a wheelchair or other mobility device have had trouble navigating the detours, which often featured shaky ramps and inadequate space to get around.
Plus, some Calgarians said they were an eyesore: bright orange barriers separated the pedestrian detour from the road, giving the appearance of a construction zone.
Coun. Evan Woolley said the patios have proven to be hugely popular and an important source of revenue for businesses, but it is time to improve the system.
“Moving forward, these patios would be on the streets. The sidewalks would remain accessible to citizens of all abilities.”
The permanent program will also give businesses certainty, he added, and that means they can invest in making them look nice. “Let's make sure we allow these things to be beautiful. The orange barriers were definitely fast and dirty but I think we can really work on these things to be nice and beautiful.”
The city will also subsidize the fees associated with setting up the extra patio space, but the exact amount is yet to be determined.
Coun. Druh Farrell said she expects the program to be wellused beyond the pandemic.
“I know we were focused at one point on parking revenue, but parking revenue is a fraction of the value that we get from vital streets — restaurant-lined streets — as well as the tax revenue that we get from businesses that are healthy.”
Council also gave the green light Wednesday for hotels and motels to defer 2021 property tax payments due to the pandemic's effect. According to city officials, Calgary hotels saw “record low” occupancy rates in the early part of this year, and the Calgary Hotel Association has been advocating for relief.
Out of 96 eligible properties, 62 want to participate in the deferral program, representing a property tax value of close to $13 million.