Barrie city council has approved the extension of the municipality’s patio season and has extended its COVID-19 patio program, Patios Everywhere, to Nov. 30 — if weather conditions permit.
If snow or ice is predicted, councillors voted that patios must be removed within 48 hours of receiving notice from the City of Barrie.
Businesses that are affected by the downtown Barrie streetscape project are allowed to reopen their patios once the paving is finished in that area and when the city notifies them that they can.
Councillors also voted for downtown snow-clearing enforcement to be suspended until the end of the Patios Everywhere program or until Nov. 30 — whichever comes first — however all business and property owners in downtown Barrie must still ensure that all snow and ice is removed daily by 10 a.m.
“This was a request that came through from the Downtown BIA and city staff were working with the Downtown BIA to solve some issues around snow-clearing,” Ward 2 Coun. Keenan Aylwin, who moved the motion, said at Monday’s Zoom council meeting.
“We realized that there may be an issue also with the paving that’s underway with the Dunlop streetscape.”
Aylwin said he and city staff want to make sure the paving is complete as soon as possible because businesses have waited a long time to reopen the road.
“We found a compromise position here where patios will be allowed after the completion of the paving if a business is affected by that paving,” he added.
“COVID has hit our local businesses hard, and this is one small way that we can support our local business community not just in the downtown but across the city through the Patios Everywhere program.”
Council unanimously approved Aylwin’s motion.