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Kamloops Patio Program

Kamloops council approves up to $150,000 extra for patio extension program

Apr 13, 2021 | 5:09 PM

KAMLOOPS — There will be more patio space in the downtown and Tranquille corridors this summer.

On Tuesday (Apr. 13), Kamloops council approved spending up to $150,000 for the city’s outdoor patio extension program. The cost to complete current requests for all-weather brick paver sidewalk extensions is around $50,000. Up to an additional $100,000 could be used for additional requests if the B.C. government’s “circuit breaker” restrictions from March 31 are extended.

In the council chambers, Councillor Mike O’Reilly called it a positive legacy of COVID-19.

“I hope this is something that will last a long time,” O’Reilly said. “Unfortunately, it took something like COVID-19 to kick things into gear to make this happen. It’s changed the downtown already and I wish we would have done this years ago. I think it’s fantastic and it’s something that we will embrace for years to come.”

The program began in spring of 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. Council previously approved using $200,000 of COVID-19 Safe Restart Funding for the program in 2021.

As of April 12, 21 businesses have applied for the outdoor patio extension program, with a recent uptake since the “circuit breaker” restrictions were announced.

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