City staff recommend that CafeTO be made a permanent, year-round program
Toronto’s popular CafeTO program could soon be made permanent through the creation of a new “streamlined” registration process that will allow participating businesses to operate expanded sidewalk patios year-round.
The program was first established in the summer of 2020 as a way to give bars and restaurants that were prohibited from serving customers indoors a leg up during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was then brought back this past spring and more than 1,200 restaurants ultimately participated, representing a 51 per cent increase from 2020.
In a report that will go before the city’s executive committee next week, staff recommend that the program be brought back for 2022 and that all permit fees be waived once again as a way of supporting a hospitality industry that has struggled.
But the report also recommends that staff get to work on establishing a new registration process for “future, permanent CaféTO sidewalk cafés” so that those businesses applying in 2022 need not apply again.
As part of that process staff would also draft a fee structure that would help the city recoup some of the costs associated with operating the program. Those costs are pegged at $5 million in 2022.
“CafeTO has been one of our most successful pandemic relief programs. It has positively impacted our city and it has positively impacted hospitality business that call Toronto home and that is because we made the decision, as simple as it may be, to turn parking spaces into patios,” Mayor John Tory said during a press conference on Wednesday morning.
“We know that people want this program to return, I want this program to return but that is not just because it is good for business. It changed the look and the feel of our city for the better.”
There were approximately 940 curb lane closures to accommodate expanded CafeTO patios this year, resulting in about 12 linear kilometres of public space being turned over to bars and restaurants.
In the report, staff say that “more work is required to monitor the impact of long-term curb lane closures on the travel network” particularly as the city returns to “pre-pandemic traffic volumes.”
For that reason, they say that 2022 is proposed as a “a final transition year before permanent program criteria are adopted to determine the permanent regulations of curb lane/parklet cafés.”
Speaking with reporters, Tory said that he would like to see the permanent CafeTO program include “some street located structures in suitable locations” that would help “change the look and the feel” of a program which has largely used temporary infrastructure, such as pylons.
“This city is poised to have strong recovery, all the right stuff is here and these measures are going to make sure that happens,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
What Canadians think of the latest Liberal budget
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Teacher shortages see some Ontario high school students awarded perfect grades on midterm exams
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.
Her fiance has been in prison for 49 years. She's trying to free him before it's too late
Christine Roess is a retired consultant. Ezra Bozeman has spent the last 49 years in prison, serving a life sentence for a murder he says he didn’t commit. Against the odds, the two fell in love.