WINNIPEG

More restaurant patios could soon be opening in Winnipeg

Kayla Rosen CTVNewsWinnipeg.ca Editorial Producer

Published Sunday, May 3, 2020 8:25AM CST

File image.

Text:

WINNIPEG -- To support the province’s reopening plan, the City of Winnipeg is offering restaurants temporary patio approvals so they can open in May.

Mayor Brian Bowman said normally the process to get patio approval from the city takes many weeks.

"Well, that's not going to cut it for those that have never had patios and who realize on Monday, they can start making some money and welcoming people to patios," Bowman told CTV Winnipeg on Friday.

In order to qualify though, businesses need to submit a registration form before 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 3.

"The expectation and my objective is restaurants that want to open temporary new patio spaces on Monday, that we're going to do everything we can to support their efforts," the mayor said.

To get this temporary approval, restaurants must comply with general safety requirements, as well as physical distancing regulations, that include:

The patio must be open air;
Patios with 60 people or less will have one or more places to leave, and patios with more than 60 people will need to have to two places to leave;
If alcohol is being served, there needs to be a fence around the patio. The fences need to be secured without damaging or drilling into the street, and umbrellas, planter boxes, signs or sandwich boards can’t extend beyond the fenced area;
There needs to be a clear path for pedestrians on the sidewalk that is five feet in size;
Patios need to be six metres back from any bus stops;
Patios can’t extend beyond any adjacent tenant spaces;
There needs to be access to a fire extinguisher, as well as a one-metre clearance for the fire department;
The patio has to be organized so that it can accommodate wheelchairs;
The fence and furniture on the patio has to be one metre or less in height;
The business’ name and logo can be on the fencing, but other banners and signs aren’t allowed;
The size of the patio needs to be limited to avoid any disturbances to nearby residential areas; and service has to be stopped by 11 p.m. unless the city extends it;
All cooking has to take place within the licensed area;
No open air fires are allowed, but enclosed gas radiant heaters can be used;
The patio needs to be set back from the face of the curb by at least 0.5 metres; and
In an emergency maintenance situation the patio elements need to be removed, and in a non-emergency situation, notice will be given to the businesses to have the patio elements removed.