Toronto City Council approves ramped up CaféTO program to help local restaurants
TORONTO, ON., February 5, 2021 — Toronto City Council today unanimously approved a bigger and better CaféTO program to help Toronto’s main street restaurants and bars during the City’s ongoing pandemic response.
The first wave of registration for the expanded CaféTO program will begin in late February and, pending public health orders, the first approved CaféTO curb lane closure locations for 2021 would be in installed as soon as May – almost two months earlier than last year.
CaféTO is a quick-start pandemic response program that launched last summer to provide urgent help local restaurants and bars. Key findings and outcomes from last year’s program will support a bigger and better CaféTO this year.
“We are bringing CaféTO back and it will be bigger and better this year. The restaurant operators and BIAs we have heard from are enthusiastic about the return of this program because it has helped local businesses stay in business, helped protect jobs, and CaféTO has improved the quality of life in our city for residents,” said Mayor John Tory.
During the summer of 2020, when outdoor dining was permitted, CaféTO helped hundreds of restaurant and bar operators by making it easier to open patios in curb lanes and along sidewalks, expanding them and accessing additional space for physical distancing. The space helped operators generate revenue and enliven nearby public spaces.
City staff will again work closely with BIAs and local restaurant and bar operators to make enhancements including:
- Updating the registration process so that it is an even more clear and straightforward process with registrations starting sooner
- Developing comprehensive and safe traffic management plans to help make sure the curb lane cafés are as a safe as possible for people dining, employees and road users
- Supporting quick CaféTO installations so that we can begin helping approved businesses as soon as possible once winter is over
- Allowing some owners/operators to build decks and platforms for curb lane café areas, where applicable
- Ensuring there is accessible furniture for public parklet areas
- Commitment to ensure more restaurants outside of the city’s core are ready to take advantage of opportunities for quick expansion of outdoor dining
A City-led CaféTO survey of approximately 2,800 respondents, comprising restaurant and bar owners/operators and members of the public, indicated the following:
- 95 per cent of respondents want to see CaféTO operate in 2021.
- 90 per cent of those surveyed were very satisfied or satisfied with their patio experience.
- 66 per cent of operators said their restaurant would not have been financially viable without CaféTO.
In 2020, CaféTO supported 801 restaurants in 62 BIAs, as well as 96 restaurants outside of BIAs. An additional 44 public parklets in BIAs were activated. The 439 curb lane closures converted 9,683 metres of traffic lanes into new outdoor dining space for restaurants.
Toronto City Council also directed City staff to be prepared to work with health officials and local business owners to continue the CurbTO program in a way that best supports prevailing public health direction and guidance. CurbTO is another quick-start pandemic response program and in 2020, 108 Curb Lane Pedestrian Zones and 154 Temporary Parking and Pick-up Zones (TPPZs) were installed. As of February 2, 2021, there are 131 TPPZs in place.
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