Spring may still be a week away, but Bradford West Gwillimbury is planning to spend another summer on the patio.
On Tuesday night, Committee-of-the-whole recommended moving forward with a temporary patio program for 2022, building on the program's success of the previous two years in helping merchants impacted by COVID-19 restrictions. The program has grown in participation since inception, with 14 businesses applying in 2020 and 18 in 2021 (including two non-restaurant businesses).
And even though restrictions throughout Ontario are in the process of being removed, the patio program in town is being expanded. For 2022, the program will also include the curb lanes on both sides of Barrie Street and Simcoe Road in the immediate vicinity of Holland Sreet.
This could be the final year for the temporary patio program, but if businesses – particularly bars and restaurants – begin to be impacted less as the pandemic wanes, staff suggest businesses looking to create or expand a patio on private property would have to do so through the town’s normal application process.
However, particularly in the downtown core, expanded patios could be here to stay. The Holland Street Environmental Assessment is considering dedicating adequate space for pedestrian space and seasonal patios.
“Over the past two years, through a bad circumstance, we’ve created this patio program and it’s become a lifeline to so many of our restaurants in town,” said Ward 2 Councillor and Chair of the Downtown Revitalization Committee Jonathan Scott. “I also think it’s important that we see how this program works on a temporary basis knowing that we’re looking to reconstruct and transform Holland St. into a place that is business-friendly, that is people-friendly. The realignment and the infrastructure that can be renewed and transformed as part of that process will be so much more conducive to patios, as well as traffic flow.”
What wasn’t in the staff report about the 2022 patio program – nor in the recent report regarding road closures for special events – was a plan for temporary closures of roads in the downtown core for pedestrian-friendly activities. This remains something Scott and the Downtown Revitalization Committee are keen to see happen, as early as this summer.
“The Downtown Revitalization Committee wanted to look at piloting weekend road closures on those streets… and how that could supplement and augment the patio program for some of those restaurants,” Scott said. He’s hopeful staff can work with the businesses on Barrie Street and Simcoe Road to see this come to fruition, similar to how those parts of the four corners are shutdown for Carrot Fest.
Coun. Peter Dykie is happy to see the program return for a third year, as he feels it benefits all businesses in the downtown core, not just the restaurants and bars.
“As a merchant, when the patios are there, it’s amazing how many people I’ve talked to over the past two years who have come from other towns just to take advantage and come to our patios,” he said. “It really does work. There are a lot of new people visiting our restaurants, and they visit our different merchants.”
The recommendation is expected to be approved by council at its next meeting. Prior to that meeting, the Downtown Revitalization Committee will also have the chance to discuss the program.
