The return of patio season in Cambridge will mean a return of road closures in two of the city’s downtown cores.
Council agreed to requests from the Hespeler and Downtown Cambridge BIAs on Tuesday to fund the temporary patio and road closure program again in 2022, this time to the tune of $50,000.
This year, Queen Street will be closed between Guelph Avenue and Tannery street between late Friday afternoon until Sunday at 8 p.m. starting on May 27 and running until Oct. 9.
In Galt, lower Main Street, between Ainslie and Water, will be closed from May 20 until Oct. 10 with the city set to provide picnic tables and extra seating for both areas.
Each BIA estimates the cost of the closure on lower Main Street in Galt and Queen Street in Hespeler on weekends will cost about $25,000 each this year with plans in place for enhanced signage, road closure materials, seating and cleaning services.
The city is also waiving application fees for businesses that want to set up patios. It's estimated the move will cost the city up to $3,500 in lost revenue but it's expected to boost participation in the program and add to downtown traffic.
The city issued a total of 15 sidewalk patio applications in 2021, including four for patio expansions and the remaining 11 for new patio applications.
The program began in Hespeler in spring 2020 when the city closed a portion of Queen Street on weekends to allow businesses to utilize the road for patio space and allow customers to stay safely spaced during the pandemic.
Based on feedback from the Hespeler BIA, the city wanted to expand the program last year.
Positive feedback led the city to close a portion of Queen Street again in July 2021 and add lower Main Street in Galt to the program for full week closure from July 2021 and October 2021.
The total cost of the closures was $25,102 for the BIAs.
The city put barricades in place to prevent vehicles from accessing the pedestrian space in error and the total cost was $120,000 including $36,000 provided from the Provincial 2021 COVID-19 Recovery Funding for Municipalities.
Last November, the city asked residents and business owners to comment on the temporary closures and 133 responses came into the Engage Cambridge website with all respondents liking the idea and most wanting it to continue.
Respondents said they thought it created a sense of community, improved the atmosphere of the downtown, made them feel it was a safer place to visit and provided the ability for residents to enjoy extended patios.
Some concerns were heard about traffic impacts, but 86 per cent said they would like to see the road closures continue in future seasons.
The city’s director of economic development, James Goodram said he heard having the additional seating available outside was a definite revenue generator for restaurants and businesses over the last two summers and added to the sense of “place and vitality at the lower Main Street corridor.”
Mayor Kathryn McGarry said there is full consensus among council to continue the program and she’s heard from businesses outside of Main Street that their customer traffic increased as part of the closure as well.
Council directed staff to investigate the feasibility and budget impact of making the program permanent.
