The City of Toronto is seeking the public’s feedback on its summer patio program to help improve the initiative next year and thereafter.
On Tuesday, the city launched a survey for restaurant operators, customers and the general public to give their critique of the CafeTO initiative which started in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Over the last three years, CaféTO has been a transformative program that has made our streets more vibrant and supported the restaurant industry during an unprecedented period of uncertainty. I look forward to hearing the feedback collected through this survey and I know it will help us continue to improve the program in the years to come,” Mayor John Tory said in a news release on Tuesday.
The survey can be found on the city’s website.
City staff say the survey will help to decide on program guidelines and criteria going forward.
“In 2021, a similar CaféTO program survey received more than 10,000 responses which showed that 91 per cent of respondents believed that extended sidewalk and curb lane cafés should be allowed in Toronto in the future,” staff wrote.
The patio program first launched in June 2020 allowing struggling restaurants and bars to set up sidewalk and curb lane seating for patrons so they could maintain physical distance to limit virus transmission.
Due to its overall success, Toronto city council voted to make CafeTO a permanent city program in Nov. 2021.
In addition, council asked staff to report on proposed program changes specific to the curb lane cafe portion of the program in early 2023.
Many have raised concerns about the program’s impact on traffic and congestion due to closures caused by the patios.
The program has also caused headaches for some event organizers, like the Greektown on the Danforth BIA who said they had to cancel the popular street festival this past summer due to “logistical issues,” including the removal of the CafeTO patios.
This past summer, the city says the CafeTO program supported more than 1,200 restaurants and bars.
The city says more than 80 per cent of curb lane installations have already been removed and that they’re on schedule to have all remaining equipment removed by Nov. 7.
