St. Marys council amends downtown-patio policy to eliminate on-street-seating option

17 Apr St. Marys council amends downtown-patio policy to eliminate on-street-seating option

By Galen Simmons
Though additional amendments to St. Marys’ downtown-patio policy may be coming following an upcoming update to the town’s 2021 downtown-parking study, St. Marys councillors voted recently to eliminate a provision that gives businesses the option to establish patio seating in on-street parking spaces.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, St. Marys’ business economic support and recovery task force recommended the town permit the seasonal installation of privately owned on-street features – specifically the use of the municipal right of way for seasonal patios, bistro tables and retail-display tables – so businesses would have the option of using the combined sidewalk and on-street parking area in front of their buildings to establish additional seating and retail space while maintaining a pedestrian thoroughfare.
In early 2021, council approved a pilot for the downtown patio and retail-space policy that ran for the 2021 patio season. After making observations through the 2021 season, the trial program was made permanent in March 2022. Following a recent review of the town’s downtown-patio policy and last year’s installation of boardwalk-style walkways overtop on-street parking spaces that divert pedestrian traffic around sidewalk patios, council voted at its April 9 meeting to eliminate the option to establish patio seating in on-street parking spaces.
“Initially when we developed the policy, we were working with proponents. They wanted that provision,” town director of public works Jed Kelly said. “Staff would prefer to move it so all the seating is back on the sidewalk with only boardwalk-style pedestrian bypasses. I’m sure everyone is aware of all the recent incidents we’ve had in the downtown core with vehicles leaving the roadway, so the working theory is that if the seating is moved back on the sidewalk, we do have that on-street parking to kind of act as a blocker.”
While reviewing the downtown-patio policy, Kelly said his department received a number of other concerns including that abutting or consecutive patios in one area adversely affect parking for patrons of nearby businesses; that downtown patios shouldn’t be allowed to expand beyond a business’ frontage; that patios are not equally available to all merchants because of varying road elevations in downtown St. Marys; and that overall, the patios have a negative impact on available downtown parking.
While Kelly told council it could consider adding provisions to the policy in the future that prevent massing of patios in one location or allow businesses where patios can’t be established because of a steep road grade to establish patios in front of vacant buildings or elsewhere downtown, he recommended waiting for the results of the town’s 2024 parking-study update before making any decisions one way or the other.
“I understand that … you want to gather more data, and I’m fine with that,” Coun. Jim Craigmile said. “ … I’m all for your possible amendment down the road of only having one patio per block. It really struck me last year that on Water Street having two close together; I really believe if that corner store was not vacant, there might have been a lot more talk about losing parking spots in front of that building. … It just caught my eye. I think if I was a business owner there, I would have been a little perturbed having two patios taking up …. probably six spots right in front of my store.”
Kelly also told council businesses are only allowed to expand their patios beyond their building’s frontage if they get permission from the neighbouring business that would be affected.
Discussing the need to update the downtown-parking study, Kelly told councillors a lot has changed in the downtown core since the study was first completed by town staff in 2021.
“We were looking at it to refresh it for May and the one thing we did notice … is the whole downtown; there has been so many changes even with the block just with the businesses and the uses in a few years, even,” Kelly said. “So, we were going to incorporate some kind of peak-hour usage – analyze when the businesses were open – to try and understand. Maybe we were concerned that maybe our study was skewed if (our data collection) started too early (in the day).”
Council will consider further amendments to the town’s downtown-patio policy when Kelly brings back his findings from the downtown-parking study update, at which time councillors will have a better notion as to how these patios affect downtown parking both for specific business and as a whole.
Patio season runs from May 15 to October 15 each year.