The extended patio outside Carlos O'Bryans on Victoria Street in Kamloops. (Photo via Google Maps)

Work to remove some of the unwanted extended patios in Kamloops will get underway next week

That is according to Kamloops Central Business Improvement Association Executive Director Howie Reimer. He says while this work was supposed to be done with in April, the City of Kamloops decided to wait until after the Memorial Cup as they were running behind schedule.

“So it will be 26 stalls, or they said approximately 26 stalls that will be freed up and they’re going to do it in the evening hours and that is so that there is not going to any disruption or closures of sidewalks,” Reimer told RadioNL. “And then they’ll get those stalls repainted.”

“They were hoping to have it all done within April but they do have a timeline now and they do have the number of patios but because of Memorial Cup, they’re going to schedule the start of removal the week of June 11.”

Reimer says the rest of the extended patios – which were first put up in 2020 to help businesses recover lost seating due to COVID-19 restrictions – will be removed after October.

“There will be all that parking for the winter months and for Christmas and the winter season, and then for next year, hopefully they’ll have a new program in place that will be temporary patios that will be the pop up models that will be seasonal,” Reimer said.

Businesses that want extended patios back for next year will have to pay for all construction and maintenance costs as well as $700 per displaced parking stall for the seven-month patio season from April 1 to October 31, translating to $100 a month.

“Generally, it was felt that the sidewalk patio extension program has a very positive impact, that it increases the downtown’s vibrancy, and it outweighs the loss of parking,” Rod Martin, the City’s Planning and Development Manager said in January.

“The proposed fee of $700 per parking stall displaced by the bypass sidewalks for the extended patios will not offset all of the lost parking revenue. However, it will cover the increased cost for City crews to maintain the areas surrounding the sidewalks and is in line with the amount that businesses indicated they were willing to pay to have an extended patio in response to the KCBIA survey.”

The roughly $100,000 cost to remove all of the existing patios will be covered by the COVID-19 Safe Restart Grant for Local Governments, the same fund which was used to install the brick sidewalk extensions back in 2021.

The KCBIA has also been calling on the City to develop a more equitable extended patio plan to better accommodate and benefit more downtown businesses.

“[Our] vision is one of a walkable, pedestrian friendly downtown,” Reimer wrote in a January letter to City Council. “We believe extended patios add vibrancy and increased benefits to many businesses, however the program needs flexibility due to inconclusive parking metrics and for those participating businesses disadvantaged by narrower sidewalks in the 500 and 600 blocks of Victoria Street.”

“We would like to see a new, seasonal extended patio model roll out this spring, with collaboration between the City of Kamloops and liquor licensing staff.”

Reimer also told NL News in January that the costs of bringing in these patios need to “make sense.”

“The city’s plan needs to be that it does offset some of the loss of parking revenue and some of the loss of parking, but it can’t be so cumbersome that businesses are going to say I’m not… I can’t afford that or I’m not doing that,” Reimer said.

List of patios to be removed this month:

• Peter’s Pasta -149 Victoria Street (two stalls)
• Maurya’s Restaurant – 165 Victoria Street (two stalls)
• Art We Are to Hoja Mongolian Grill – 246 Victoria Street to 256 Victoria Street (four stalls)
• Madras Masala & Grill – 120 3rd Avenue (two stalls)
• Klasske’s Bistro (old location) – 260 3rd Avenue (one stall)
• Pizza Pi, Subway, Royal Tokyo, Casa Azul – 314 Victoria Street to 332 Victoria Street (eight stalls)
• The Vic/Commodore – 369 Victoria Street to 377 Victoria Street (two stalls)
• Hello Toast – 428 Victoria Street (one stall)
• The Raj Indian Cuisine – 438 Victoria Street (one stall)
• Red Collar Brewing – 355 Lansdowne Street (three stalls)
• Bright Eye Brewing – 292 Tranquille Road (three stalls)

List of patios to staying for summer 2023:

• Kamloops Chamber of Commerce –  615 Victoria Street
• Alchemy Brewing Company – 650 Victoria Street
• Delta Hotel/Cordo Resto & Bar – 540 Victoria Street
• Plaza Hotel/Tumbleweed Lounge – 405 Victoria Street
• Mittz Kitchen – 227 Victoria Street
• Caffe Motivo – 229 Victoria Street
• Carlos O’Bryan’s to Frozen Paddle  – 357 Victoria Street to 359 Victoria Street