The city councillor in Ward 4 is proposing a unique idea to help restaurants and bars when they are allowed to re-open and extend their patios — boardwalks.
Chris Holt introduced a notice of motion at Monday's council meeting to have administration come back with a report to identify any hurdles and design guidelines.
At a recent meeting with the Walkerville Business Improvement Association (BIA), some business owners expressed concerns about how pedestrians would walk by if patios are extended during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"What the BIA was concerned with was the actual movement of pedestrians around that patio," says Holt.
He says they are used in other municipalities like Kingsville, Ont. and Halifax, N.S. and would address safety issues for people walking by.
"It is made of pressure treated wood, done up nicely with flower boxes and a railing and it was determined by the BIA that this was an acceptable route to take for any members who are going to be building these extended patios."
Holt says the idea need to be addressed sooner rather than later.
"As you can imagine, it is very time sensitive," he says. "The minute that our bars and restaurants are allowed to open, they would like to build these extended patios."
According to Holt, the BIA or business owner would pay for the boardwalks.
On Monday, the province announced that Windsor-Essex is one of three regions still in Stage 1 of the province’s reopening framework, which means patios are not allowed to open.
But Holt says when they are allowed to reopen, it is important for all the business owners to have all the tools available to make them as successful as possible.
— With files from AM800's Rob Hindi