City of Toronto staff have recommended that the CafeTO program, which allows for restaurants and bars to have expanded outdoor dining areas, become permanent.
The program was first introduced last year to help restaurants and bars serve customers outdoors amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a news release issued Wednesday, City officials said Toronto Mayor John Tory has endorsed the report, which also recommends waiving fees for the program next year to provide further emergency support for businesses.
The release said that this year, the CafeTO program is being used by more than 1,200 restaurants with outdoor dining areas on streets and sidewalks, including 940 with curb lane closures.
Around 500 Toronto restaurants already have a permanent permit for a sidewalk patio and this year, 429 opened a new or expanded sidewalk patio through CafeTO.
Compared to 2020, registration for the program increased by 51 per cent this year, officials said.
As part of the program, public parklets were installed to increase the amount of public space available in “cafe-saturated streetscapes,” the release said, with a total of 65 parklets throughout the city this year.
The staff report recommends that a new registration process be implemented for permanent sidewalk cafes beginning in 2022, which would be “fast and streamlined,” allowing owners to apply once for year-round use.
Existing CafeTO sidewalk patios can remain in place until April 14.
The report also recommends the return of temporary curb lane closures next year under similar criteria used this year, and a recommendation to have criteria for permanent seasonal use of curb lanes by 2023.
“This approach will help keep the program as flexible as possible in order to allow for adjustments related to potential changes to the food service industry, as well as changes to traffic patterns and street uses as a result of pandemic recovery over the coming year,” the release said.
The report recommends that a number of factors be taken into consideration, including traffic congestion, road maintenance and accessibility of cafes.
The City also conducted a public survey this summer for restaurant owners, customers and the public to gather feedback on CafeTO. Out of more than 10,000 responses, 91 per cent said they support making sidewalk and curb lane patios available in the city in the future, the release said.
“There is overwhelming enthusiasm in favour of making the program permanent and to do so in a measured way that considers the many potential uses of public space going forward,” Mayor John Tory said.
But not everyone is in favour of making CafeTO permanent.
“First ActiveTO, then ‘temporary bike lanes,’ now CafeTO. It’s time to end these programs once our economy fully re-opens.”
The report will be reviewed at the Executive Committee next Wednesday and then by council on Nov. 9 and 10. It can be found on the city website.
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