Due to popular demand, Kamloops council has added to the pot of money for helping businesses build outdoor patios.

There have been 20 applications from local businesses to expand patios onto public sidewalks, according to city staff, and more applications are expected. That’s compared to 13 applications for all of 2020 when the patio extension program was brand new.

The city is paying for the cost to build extended concrete sidewalks to make room for those patios, and council had approved up to $200,000 for those. Staff say with 20 applications, the city has committed $250,000, and expects it could need up to $350,000 altogether; the funding is coming from COVID-19 Safe Restart Funding provided by the B.C. government.

Today, council has unanimously approved upping the budget for helping build patios to $350,000.

Coun. Mike O’Reilly, who is also a former head of the Kamloops Central Business Improvement Association which advocates for downtown businesses, says he “wishes this would’ve been done years ago.”

“This will be a legacy of COVID-19. A positive legacy that we will see for years to come,” he says, while giving kudos to businesses across the city.

Patios started being built on March 30, within 24 hours of new “circuit breaker” health restrictions being announced by B.C. health officials which, notably, banned indoor dining.

Among the new patio spaces are a 180-foot patio in the 300-block of Victoria Street downtown, and a 65-foot patio in the 200-block of Tranquille Road on the North Shore.