Make CaféTO outdoor dining program permanent, city report recommends

Toronto Mayor John Tory endorsed a city report Wednesday that recommends making the CaféTO outdoor dining program permanent.

The report, which will be considered by the city's executive committee on Oct. 27, also recommends waiving fees next year for the program, which has allowed hundreds of bars and restaurants to expand their outdoor dining spaces by seating customers in areas such as sidewalks and streets.

"The CaféTO program has been a hugely successful and incredibly popular program that has helped hundreds of restaurants stay open," Tory said in a statement. 

"There is overwhelming enthusiasm in favour of making the program permanent and to do so in a measured way that considers the many potential uses of public space going forward."

CaféTO was launched as a quick-start pandemic response in the summer of 2020 to help Toronto's main street restaurants and bars make more space for patrons and allow for physical distancing while indoor dining was restricted under the provincial government's COVID-19 pandemic response plan. City council re-upped the program on a temporary basis in 2021.

More than 1,200 restaurants made use of the CaféTO program in 2021 by setting up or expanding outdoor patios on streets, sidewalks and parklets, the city said. Of those, 940 restaurants added seating to curb-adjacent street lanes, with 12 kilometres of pubic space in total being allocated for outdoor dining.

In a news release Wednesday, the city said a public survey of restaurateurs and customers revealed overwhelming support for allowing sidewalk and curb lane patios in Toronto in the future. Out of 10,000 responses to the survey, over 91 per cent were positive, the city said.

City staff are recommending a new "fast and streamlined" registration process that would require restaurants and bars to apply once for year-round expanded sidewalk patios.

For curb lane patios, staff are recommending the return of temporary curb lane cafés next year, with installations starting as early as May 2022. A separate recommendation calls for the development of criteria to make the seasonal use of curb lanes permanent by 2023.

"This approach will help keep the program as flexible as possible in order to allow for adjustments related to potential changes to the food service industry, as well as changes to traffic patterns and street uses as a result of pandemic recovery over the coming year," the news release said. 

If approved by the executive committee, the report will go in front of the full city council at its next meeting on Nov. 9 or 10.