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Surrey council votes to make Parking to Patio program permanent

Council on Monday also extended the temporary program and fee waiver to Oct. 2, 2022
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Lia Crowe photo

Surrey council has endorsed city staff’s plan to make permanent the city’s Parking to Patio program.

The program was initially set up in May 2020 to help restaurants and pubs survive the pandemic, allowing them to expand their service to private parking lots, sidewalks, boulevards, city road right-of-ways and on-street parking.

READ ALSO: Surrey waives outdoor patio fees for pubs, restaurants

READ ALSO: Surrey Board of Trade calls on city hall to waive patio fees for restaurants, pubs

A report that came before council Monday, Oct. 18, recommended an extension to the Temporary Parking to Patio program until June 1, 2022 as well as continuing to waive related fees until that date. It also asked council to endorse a plan to support a permanent program that would streamline the approval process and deal with applications on a case-by-case basis.

Council pushed the extension to Oct. 2, 2022, at Coun. Linda Annis’s request. “I think this is a great program and I’m so pleased to see it being extended,” she said.

Forty-two establishments have made use of the program to date.

“I’d like to see that doubled as soon as possible,” Coun. Allison Patton said.

Mayor Doug McCallum called it a “tremendous” program.

“I’ve heard from restaurants that just love it,” he said.



tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com

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About the Author: Tom Zytaruk

I write unvarnished opinion columns and unbiased news reports for the Surrey Now-Leader.
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