Patio hours for Barrie’s bars and restaurants could be extended by an hour, beginning Friday.
At a special meeting Thursday, city council will consider a direct motion that the hours a person can enter or re-enter an outdoor area be extended from 10:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., and the time that a person be permitted to remain in the outdoor area be extended from 11:15 p.m. to 12:15 a.m., until indoor dining is permitted again according to Ontario’s COVID-19 reopening framework.
Coun. Keenan Aylwin, the direct motion’s mover, said it’s about more than just helping restaurants and bars - where outdoor dining can resume at 12:01 a.m. Friday, with as many as four people per table allowed, with exceptions for larger households.
“Not only are patios a key part of Barrie’s economic recovery, but they are one of the primary social gathering places in our city that allow for people to get together and build a sense of community. Downtown Barrie is a meeting place for people from all over Barrie and the surrounding region,” said Aylwin, who represents the downtown area.
“As we start to cautiously reopen, people will be looking for opportunities that allow for safe, outdoor, physically distanced social connection and patios are an excellent vehicle for that,” he said.
Patio use distributes restaurant capacity while meeting physical distance measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Social isolation was a major issue even before the pandemic,” Aylwin said. “I hope that our society will start to re-imagine our cities to prioritize public spaces that allow for meaningful social interaction and not just places where products and services are purchased.
“I’m hoping we can get our main square open very soon, as well as our library, and other civic buildings like rec centres and city hall to allow for people to gather without having to spend money.”
Exactly how many bars and restaurants would be affected by council’s direct motion, should it pass, remains to be seen.
This year, city development services staff have currently approved one patio and are prepared to issue approvals for six or seven patios this week, on Friday through Patios Everywhere, which is intended to address patios which are outside the Business Improvement Area and city centre.
In 2020 there were 55 licensed patios and the city added the Patios Everywhere program to support the industry, given the impacts of COVID. In 2020, staff approved nine patios through Patios Everywhere.
The number of business licences issued for Barrie patios in 2019 was 70.
There was some question whether council is able to extend patio hours, but the province has said that restaurant patios can go back to the regular hours of liquor service Friday, hours set out in the Liquor Licence Act regulations.
Ontario’s shutdown regulation amendments - announced Monday - don’t place capacity restrictions on outdoor patios, but restaurants are required to ensure that people at different tables are at least two metres apart, or there is an impermeable barrier like plexiglass, and there’s a maximum of four people at a table - more if everyone is from the same household plus one person who lives alone, or a caregiver.
This will limit how many people could be on the patio to comply with the distancing and seating requirements. Patios are still subject to municipal licensing requirements.
City council will vote on Aylwin’s direct motion at a virtual meeting on Thursday, beginning at 7 p.m.
It is the only item on the agenda
