(Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

PATIO SEASON

Patio program returning to Kamloops downtown – with a few tweaks

Mar 13, 2024 | 5:30 PM

KAMLOOPS — During Kamloops city council’s regular meeting on Tuesday (March 12), a motion was passed to allow businesses in the downtown core and along the Tranquille commercial areas to build extended sidewalk patios.

The program was first launched in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to keep restaurants and coffee shops open during lockdown. Since then, the patios have grown into a chance to increase the vibrancy of Kamloops during the summer months.

It was a unanimous vote by council on Tuesday to bring back the extended sidewalk patio program in Kamloops with a few changes from year’s past. While businesses will now be responsible for building and maintaining the cut-outs, the program is expected to breathe life into the community.

“If you go for a beer and a burger, you might go into one of the other stores or need services somewhere else. It’s all to improve our downtown, get more commerce, get more traffic, and of course, that community vibe that we want,” said KCBIA Executive Director Howie Reimer.

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Reeve Harrison, owner of The Vic Downtown, noted that during the summer, the coffee shop can do upwards of 50 per cent more business if it has its patio open.

“The patios I think are super important to get more people down here, just the hustle and bustle around,” Harrison told CFJC Today. “People like to enjoy having a drink or some food out on a patio in the summer and we are lucky to have a big patio here so it’s all great.”

Businesses will be required to pay for any parking stalls they take up, with prices being cut by 50 per cent in the first year to allow the establishments to build out the infrastructure. That model should help find a middle ground between parking and patios.

“I think it is a good compromise. We did do a survey of the non-food and beverage businesses downtown and over 60 per cent of the respondents favoured seasonal extended patios — which, of course, will [be removed] during the winter months,” said Reimer.

The patios are allowed to be set up during the designated patio season from April 1 to the end of October.