Despite Toronto receiving a whopping 36 centimetres of snow yesterday (Jan. 17), in just a few short months, restaurants will be setting up their patios for spring.
Today, mayor John Tory announced that registration for CaféTO is now open for 2022. Local restaurant and bar operators interested in expanding their outdoor dining space into the curb lane and onto sidewalks can register and apply for permits online at Toronto.ca/CafeTO.
The CaféTO program, first announced in 2020, allows restaurants and bars to extend their outdoor dining areas in accordance with existing public health guidelines. New for 2022, café operators are eligible for a matching grant of up to $7,500 to cover 50 per cent of the cost of eligible property or site improvements related to curb lane café installations, sidewalk cafés or patios on private property, through the CaféTO Property Improvement Program.
In November 2021, City Council directed staff to reinstate the permanent permitting process for sidewalk cafés in 2022, while continuing to waive all application, transfer, and permit fees. A new streamlined, online permit application process, means businesses need only apply once for year-round expanded sidewalk cafés. Businesses can now submit application documents and complete payment in one convenient online system.
New advantages
Obtaining a permanent sidewalk café permit will provide benefits to businesses, including a one-time permit application that can be renewed through the annual business licence process. This will provide certainty for businesses in terms of their permitted sidewalk café space, which allows for greater confidence when considering investments in café furnishings.
Once applications are received, City staff will create traffic management plans to safely close curb lanes and develop a balanced approach to curb lane use to support all businesses, including loading zones, garbage/recycling pickup zones, bike parking, etc. Pending public health orders, approved CaféTO curb lane locations would be installed as early as mid-May – in time for the May long weekend.
In order to ensure valuable curb lane space is used to its maximum benefit, businesses must operate their curb lane area during normal business hours for at least one meal service a day, three times a week.
CaféTO also supports restaurant and bar operators to expand outdoor dining opportunities on private property. The City has enacted temporary use Zoning Bylaws to permit larger outdoor patios than would otherwise be permitted and to allow outdoor patios in parking lots.
In 2021, CaféTO supported 1,213 restaurants with curb lane cafés, of those 1,055 were in BIAs and 158 were outside of BIAs. An additional 65 public parklets in 39 BIAs were activated. The program provided 940 restaurants with curb lane closures, which converted 12,000 metres (12 kilometers) of traffic lanes into new outdoor dining space for restaurants.
Details about CaféTO, including how to register, are available at Toronto.ca/CafeTO.