Hooley’s Pub has requested permission to create a sidewalk patio facing Elgin Street.
An application by Hooley's Pub to build a sidewalk patio on Elgin Street is in the hands of the community.
The request could be approved by the city as soon as May if it has to go to the transportation committee, says Ermis Durofil, a city program manager overseeing planning and growth management and right of way bylaws.
Other Elgin Street pubs such as Woody’s Elgin Street Urban Pub have already received approval for similar patios and while some residents enjoy being able to eat outside, others say losing half the sidewalk space has created some difficulties for pedestrian traffic.
On Feb. 25, the city sent out a notice to surrounding businesses and residents regarding the details of the proposed patio and asked for comments. Durofil says the city has already received objections and support.
As the pub is close to a residential area the city has asked for comments on the proposal from ward Coun. Diane Holmes and the Centretown Citizens Community Association, Durofil says.
Holmes says she’s worried there isn’t enough space for both pedestrians and patios. “I’m concerned about the width on Elgin Street and the number of pedestrians on Elgin Street.”
While she says she understands patios go wherever there is a lot of foot traffic, city bylaws require the sidewalk to be wider for both the large numbers of pedestrians and the proposed patio.
The city has never abided by that policy, Holmes says, and has instead created a new minimum width standard, regardless of the number of pedestrians.
The proposed patio would be 16 metres long and 1.5 metres wide seating 32 customers, leaving 1.8 metres of sidewalk space for pedestrians, which is the exact width of the city standard.
“The complaint that we’ve had about the other locations is a worry that the pedestrians might be forced off the sidewalk and into the traffic lane,” Holmes says.
Hooley’s Pub is following a recent trend of sidewalk patios on Elgin Street sidewalks. Woody’s Elgin Street Urban Pub sparked the idea last summer and put in the first request to the city, shortly followed by The Standard, both of which were temporarily approved.
At first, patios seemed like a good way to reanimate the street, says Rob Dekker, vice-president of the Centretown Citizens Community Association. However, after they began popping up on Elgin Street, creating pedestrian congestion, he says the association rethought the idea.
Holmes says she is recommending the city temporarily approve Hooley’s Pub’s patio request for this spring and summer, and determine if there are any pedestrian concerns during that time.