City opening downtown to outdoor patios

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on April 27, 2023.

Herald file photo Local businesses are getting ready to take advantage of the City's parklet program.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

With warmer weather in the forecast, local businesses are getting ready to serve their customers outdoors by taking advantage of the City of Lethbridge’s patio and parklet program.

The program, which supports businesses in expanding outdoor seating opportunities, increasing aesthetic appeal and attracting more customers, was originally piloted in 2018 and gained a great deal of positive feedback from both business owners and the public.

Project administrator with the City of Lethbridge, Justin Schipper, talked to media Wednesday morning and said he is really excited to see people out in downtown again and he is looking forward to seeing what kind of patios are going to be popping up soon.

“It’s really good to see people out in the downtown. It adds exposure to these businesses as well as some of them might be a little tucked back and not as exposed, so if they have a patio it perks up people’s eyes when they’re driving by or walking by, so a lot of importance there,” said Schipper.

He said there is a permitting process that businesses will need to go through to be able to have a patio, and all the information about it can be found on the City website.

 “There are four different permits. There’s a major patio permit, which is more of a permanent structure, there’s a minor which is a patio where businesses can expand their space onto city sidewalks and add bistro sets and seating outside. The street vending is where businesses can show their wares outside of their business, and the parklet permit is a permit where they can expand their seating into parking spaces and create a patio there,” said Schipper.

He believes there were six parklets and eight minor patios last season around the downtown area. He added that there is potential for more this year as there are some new businesses in the area.

“There’s always new inquiries, especially if people are looking to start a business downtown. They also inquire about what the parklet program looks like, so it’s been an incentive to have a business downtown as well,” said Schipper.

He said patios usually start coming out at the beginning of May, but this year some might be out as early as this weekend.

“We had some requests for early openings which I am OK with, especially when the sun is shinning people want to eat outside,” said Schipper.

An incentive program is in place to further assist businesses. The program includes a city-wide 50 per cent matching up to $1,000 for costs including plants, planters, furnishings, barriers etc. for any patio or parklet.

Follow @APulidoHerald on Twitter

Comments are closed.