Planners call for fewer cars to create more patio space
Limiting street use on certain days would allow businesses to expand presence, firm says
As more establishments begin to reopen in Toronto during Stage 2, a group of architects and traffic engineers have come up with an idea to make business more successful this summer.
Local architecture firm Smart Density and traffic planning firm Trans-Plan propose limiting the use of some streets on certain days of the week to pedestrians only — allowing for people to move about while maintaining social distancing and at the same time permitting businesses such as restaurants to expand their outdoor presence even further.
“It could really help to boost the economy this summer,” said architect and urban planner Naama Blonder, a cofounder of Smart Density.
“And why not? It’s so easy to implement.”
Under Stage 2 of the province’s reopening plan during the COVID-19 pandemic, restaurants are permitted to operate patio dining and establishments offering personal services such as hair salons can open. Toronto entered Stage 2 last Wednesday.
Retailers with storefront entrances had already been permitted to open since the province entered Stage1of the
reopening last month.
Smart Density and TransPlan noted that a few patio tables won’t be enough to make most restaurants profitable this summer.
After months of being closed — except for takeout and delivery services — restaurants will still only be able to operate at about half of their usual capacity to maintain social distancing.
Blonder said the proposal — which her group is floating to business improvement areas in the city — would allow restaurants to have even more space this summer.
“It could be a restaurant, could be a bookstore, a designer with a pop-up, it’s really about extending their business outside,” Blonder said. “And it will still be safe and within social distancing guidelines.”
She said the proposal would go further than the city’s current plan for restaurants, dubbed CaféTO, which was headed to city council this week for final approval.
That plan includes reallocating curb lane space for patios, and waiving patio fees so that restaurants and bars can open and expand them sooner. With Smart Density and Trans-Plan’s proposal, they suggest banning cars entirely on certain days of the week, such as Thursday to Sunday, and yielding the space over to businesses and pedestrians.
“CaféTO is a great start, but perhaps it’s not bold enough,”
Blonder said.
“Main Street businesses have suffered so much,” Blonder said. “What else can be done?” The economic impact of COVID-19 has been particularly brutal for the city’s small businesses, including restaurants, that had to almost completely shut down for several months at the beginning of the pandemic in March.
Restaurants tend to have thin profit margins, and many have faced challenges in retaining staff and paying fixed costs, most notably rent.
Recognizing that the impact is ongoing, the federal government announced Monday it was extending its rent relief program for businesses by another month.