While patio dining is in full swing, the town of Oakville is planning ahead to enhance its outdoor patio dining program for future years. Part of that planning includes seeking public input through an online survey about local patios.
Town staff say the focus of the survey is so the patio program "maintains a vibrant patio experience in public and private spaces."
An online survey is available to the public here until July 30, 2023 to get feedback on the availability of restaurant and café patio dining, ease of use, safety and accessibility.
The town is also engaging restaurant owners and staff, and other non-food businesses that are in the vicinity of restaurants, through customized surveys, one-on-one meetings and other engagement opportunities.
All input collected will help shape a Permanent Seasonal Patio Program to be shared with Town Council in early fall 2023. The report will include recommendations to improve user experience, provide predictability on the size and positioning of patios, maintain safety and accessibility standards, and create a smoother permitting process.
This year's seasonal patio dining program runs from May 1 to November 1, 2023. In 2023, the town issued 70 permits for temporary patios at restaurants, bistros and for outdoor displays
Patios in on-street parking spaces require safety barriers to be installed at either end of the patio between the decking and the abutting parking space.
The Oakville patio dining survey is available online at this link. More information on local patio dining can be found on Oakville's website here.