Creemore area councillor Thom Paterson tabled a motion Monday addressing several issues in a motion entitled Patios, Parking and Pedestrians.
The goal of the omnibus motion is to direct staff to investigate eight action items.
Paterson is asking for a policy permitting on-street patios, or bump outs, as a permanent seasonal option for outdoor restaurant dining. The street patios were allowed during the pandemic when businesses were looking to add extra outdoor seating. The practice has been extended for another season but Paterson is hoping it will be extended indefinitely.
Paterson said patio policies could be applied to the entire township but that Creemore lends itself to the bump outs because it is not on a major roadway.
The motion also calls for the development of a service level agreement in partnership with the Creemore BIA that leads to the improvement of the appearance and maintenance of the streetscape in the business district, and the upgrade of the pedestrian crosswalk at the Caroline and Mill Streets intersection by installing appropriate pavement markings, signage and lighting alerting oncoming vehicles of pending pedestrian traffic.
“Many of these things I am asking for are applicable certainly in Stayner,” said Paterson.
He is also looking to address parking concerns on both sides of Elizabeth Street approximately 120m west of Mill Street, and near Gowan Park by eliminating angle parking and creating a public parking area at the Creemore Medical Centre.
He said angle parking on Edward Street East has been raised as a concern by area residents for some time.
“It’s very clearly recognizing that we’ve had a problem for two or three years. The residents have been complaining in great numbers,” said Paterson. “It’s boiling over now.”
He wrote in his report to council that “these long-standing issues related to the efficient use and maintenance of the municipal streetscape have converged partly due to the restrictions imposed by the pandemic and partly as a result of increased interest and efforts to attract visitor traffic to the commercial and retail district of Creemore. It is opportune to address each one of these interdependent concerns in a coordinated, comprehensive way rather than as stand alone issues.”
“As local and tourism related pedestrian traffic is increasing steadily, attention to provisions to ensure safe passage along our sidewalks and at our roadway crossings are also needed,” wrote Paterson. “In support of the efforts of our local merchants and inco-operation with the management of the BIA, effective solutions can best be found by working together to improve our local resident and visitor experience and to raise the service levels the community has come to expect.”
“If we just roll this out all at once it would just be quite a disturbance to be honest,” said Mayor Doug Measures. “All these things are very positive steps but I think we have to be timely.”
Trina Berlo photo: Bank Cafe proprietor Nancy Johnston visits with a patron on her new patio. The cafe is the latest to add a street patio on Mill Street. The so-called “bump outs” have been allowed during the pandemic. Councillor Thom Paterson is hoping to make them a permanent option for main street restaurants.
Correction
The Echo apologizes for an error made in the original reporting of Thom Paterson’s May 30 motion titled Patios, Parking & Pedestrians (Paterson proposes permanent patio permission, The Creemore Echo, Friday June 3, p. 7) with regard to issues with angle parking in Creemore.
The motion called for staff to place signage prohibiting angled parking on both sides of Elizabeth Street approximately 120m west of Mill Street; and place signage prohibiting angled parking on the south boulevard of Edward Street abutting the Gowan Park fence line as soon as the Creemore Medical Centre temporary parking facility is available for use.