“They have added vibrancy but there’s a perceived inequity for some of the other businesses,” Howie Reimer, executive director of the Kamloops Downtown Business Association said. “Also, those patios are sitting absolutely vacant during the winter months.”
Some businesses argue for the dismantling of the patio programming, saying the added parking is more valuable than the added space for some businesses.
“There’s nowhere for customers to park reasonably close — they just don’t come,” Mario Pietramala, owner of Fratelli Foods, explained.
“They wanna get as close as they can to the location. You can imagine a big box store losing half their parking. If you can’t find a parking spot, what do you do? You just move on, keep going to the next location, where you can find parking.”
However some businesses, like Hello Toast, are in full support of the extended patios becoming permanent in the downtown.
“I think continuing to have it would be really good because of the rising food cost prices. We are limited seating in our restaurant — it’s small — so the more seating we can get throughout the year the better, so we’re all for it,” co-owner of Hello Toast, Janine Stiles told CFJC News.
“I know it’s a little bit of a lack of parking but I still think there’s quite a bit nowadays and with the parking lots going in, it shouldn’t be too much of a concern.”
Pietramala says he’s already seen the effects of scarce parking for his business.
“The loss of parking spaces downtown for me is a detriment for people to come downtown, especially through the wintertime,” he said. “Summertime maybe not so much – people are a little more up to walk. But winter time, we know in Kamloops is fairly long and extensive. Its deterred people from coming downtown.”
According to the city, a total of 22 businesses have utilized the program.
This week, city council voted to remove the existing patio extensions that are not being used. Businesses that want to keep theirs will be able to for this spring and summer season.
In 2024, the city will implement a new program where businesses can apply for permits in the spring to construct and install their own patio extensions at their own expense.
The cost of removal will be funded from the remaining COVID-19 Safe Restart Grant for Local Governments and will cost more than $100k once all the extensions are removed in the fall.