In an attempt to assist restaurants and ensure they can operate immediately, Toronto will begin installing infrastructure designated for curbside patios. Updates will begin in early May so that the patios will be ready when the stay-at-home order is lifted.
The initiative is known as the CafeTO program and restaurants with a small patio area can apply to use public spaces to set up outdoor dining. The initiative is currently reviewing 720 cafes and 71 public parklets. Mayor John Tory expects the efforts to begin on May 8th and be finished in 3 weeks. Last year, CafeTO assisted 897 restaurants across Toronto using 44 public parklets. This amounted to 9,683 meters of traffic lanes being converted into curbside patios.
The stay-at-home order which banned indoor dining has a tentative end date of May 20th. This may cause restaurants to be busier than usual. So, Toronto’s Mayor still urges to not use curbside patios until Public Health Officials informs it is safe.
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