Victoria considers permanently expanding patio spaces for businesses
In a first step to make street patios created during the pandemic an ongoing fixture in Victoria, council voted to make the closures in the 1300-block of Gladstone Avenue permanent.
In summer 2020, the City of Victoria enacted an emergency bylaw allowing restaurants and businesses to expand their premises onto city streets. The bylaw was enacted to accommodate physical distancing measures due to the pandemic.
"The patio over the last year and a half has been an absolute life-saver for our business," said Fernwood Inn owner and operator Michael Colwill.
"It allowed us to get some great sales through the summer and it allowed us to hire basically our full staff back sooner."
For the past few months, Colwill and other businesses in the Fernwood Village neighbourhood have been working with Victoria Coun. Shamarke Dubow to make the patios permanent.
On July 8, Dubow brought a motion before Victoria council "to identify processes for facilitating permanent closures of travel lanes and/or full roadways to facilitate increased public space, and/or zones for permitted commercial use, beginning with 1300-block on Gladstone from Fernwood Street to Stanley Avenue as pilot program."
Colwill says it's the first step in the right direction.
"That’s where we are now, they’ve acknowledged that they want us to be able to keep the patios," he said. "They need to create a framework that can be used across the city."
The emergency bylaw was enacted under the Build Back Victoria patio program and the bylaw is set to expire on Oct. 31, 2021. Under the new motion, council hopes to extend and optimize the Build Back Victoria patio program as a 2021 Strategic Plan action item and "make the Build Back Victoria patio program permanent" as a 2022 Strategic plan action item.
Colwill says the patios provided a huge boost to his and other businesses in Fernwood Village while they were coping with the challenges of the pandemic.
"It allowed the businesses to recuperate and dig ourselves out of these big holes that COVID has put us all in," said Colwill. "It has created this vibrancy and sense of community within the village that has never been here before."
Council has also asked staff to find out how the city can work with businesses to make the more than 100 patios permanent once the pandemic is over.
Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps says she expects staff will recommend that the current bylaw permitting "pandemic patios" be extended until June 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
Broadcaster and commentator Rex Murphy dead at 77: National Post
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.
Pearson gold heist suspect arrested after flying into Toronto from India
Another suspect is in custody in connection with the gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport last year, police say.
Millions of cyberattacks per hour as B.C. government investigates multiple breaches
Careful attention to government statements and legislation is required to get a handle on the level of risk British Columbians’ information is under, as investigators probe multiple breaches under a continued barrage of attacks.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Debate on abortion rights erupts on Parliament Hill, Poilievre vows he won't legislate
A Conservative government led by Pierre Poilievre would not legislate on, nor use the notwithstanding clause, on abortion, his office says, as anti-abortion protesters gather on Parliament Hill.
Justin and Hailey Bieber are expecting their first child together
Hailey and Justin Bieber are going to be parents. The couple announced the news on Thursday on Instagram, both sharing a video that showcases Hailey Bieber's growing belly.
Here are the ultraprocessed foods you most need to avoid, according to a 30-year study
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
New 'Lord of the Rings' film coming in 2026
The Oscar-winning team behind the nearly US$6 billion blockbuster 'Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit' trilogies is reuniting to produce two new films.