A series of tweets from Mayor Jeff Lehman has given hope to the beloved patio scene in Barrie and the Patios Everywhere Program may be a thing of the near future.
From his Twitter account, Lehman stated that the city has more than 400 restaurants, which is well above the typical number for a community this size.
With fears the industry could be hard hit due to the COVID-19 pandemic, new ideas are being considered to help out business owners one of Barrie’s fastest-growing job creators.
“The idea is that restaurants could fence off, or use planters, to create outdoor seating areas in parking lots to create more space,” Lehman told BarrieToday. “In general, the number could be about two tables per parking space, although careful design would be needed.”
The idea was brought up by the mayor to city staff earlier this week. Lehman admits it's still in the very early stages, but said staff “believe it is feasible and are working on the layout and industry aspects of this.”
City staff will consult with restaurants over the next few weeks to sort out the details.
Just about every restaurant across the city has a parking lot, making nearly all establishments eligible to take part in the proposed Patios Everywhere Program.
Downtown establishments don’t have the same parking luxuries, but that is also being looked at to help those businesses.
“In the downtown, we might look at municipal parking lots and public spaces, such as Meridian Place,” Lehman said. “There may be certain areas where parking is limited and it may be more difficult to do this.”
Lehman says most people like to have a cold, alcoholic beverage while sitting on a patio and the mayor assures that the logistics of that are being currently looked at.
“Permits will likely be needed for alcohol service,” said Lehman. “We’re working on this now.”
While the program is being considered to assist with the current physical-distancing situation, should it be successful, Lehman says that it could be the new way of doing things.
“Ultimately, as we move into the post-COVID world, there’s potential for temporary seating areas to become permanent, creating more animated spaces throughout the city," he said. "If this pilot program is successful, it can be part of building more people-oriented public spaces.”
