By Staff
May 26th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
They are popping up on Brant – by now they are open and hopefully filled with happy patrons.
Outside the Coop on Lower Brant.
Pop Up patios were an idea that took some time to make it to Brant street.
The first appeared in 2016 outside what was a very popular Test Kitchen. The financial fundamentals were not in place – one day they were just gone.
The idea however had merit and despite the maze of regulations the restauranteurs had to work their way through they are returning this summer.
The pop patio otside the Pump on Brant under construction. Now completed and ready for thirsty, hungry patrons. The Berkeley condominium in the background foretells Burlington’s skyline of the future – there are three others either approved or in the pipeline.
The Coop on lower Brant was the first to open with a second pop up patio outside the newly Branded Pump now ready for customers.
Can patios function on a Brant Street that is going to undergo significant construction activity once the building permits for the one approved 23 storey are issued and the demolition crews begin their work and then back hoes begin the excavation?
Enjoy the two that are in place now.
Susie,
I totally agree with you. Not only are these POP UPS dangerous to those who are basically sitting in the road, (an accident waiting to happen) but also infringe on pedestrians who are walking by on the sidewalks, as servers have to go from the patio through the restaurant to get the food.
As for the large transport trucks for unloading food – this is another issue in the downtown. I live at the corner of Lakeshore and Pearl. Our garage is on Pearl Street, when food is being delivered to Pearl & Pine Assisted Living Residence it is impossible to see the traffic coming on Pearl Street when exiting. The City never insisted that a designated unloading zone be located at the back of the building off their parking lot to accommodate these trucks.
The same problems exist on Pine Street, which is even a narrower street with parking on one side and sharrows on the other. Anyone who cycles on this street is taking their lives in their hands. Try turning right from Pine Street onto Elizabeth when the trucks are there to deliver to the LCBO and all the restaurants in that area.
I am aware that many people enjoy sitting outside, but perhaps a better way of doing this should have been examined, rather than taking up much needed parking spaces.
Have to wonder how public safety and traffic issues were not on the radar when building permits were given to these developments.
It will be interesting to see how the city’s decision to allow music on patios plays out. I envision each patio and there are many on Lakeshore Road competing with each other.
When the City insists that there be restaurants at the base of condominiums it creates many problems for those living in the buildings above them. Odours permeate the units because of improper ventilation and noise from the patios cause issues as well.
Why is it that the city equates vibrancy with noise? The least the City could do is require greater building standards to deal with these issues, as well as a cut off time for the music. At the Sound of Music everything stops at 11:00 pm.
If the City wants families to move into the new condominiums that are being proposed then they have to understand that the needs that come with family living.
Great points and i totally agree that these pop ups are a)Ugly b) Safety hazard and c) Take up valuable road space . Has any one at City Hall considered cyclist’s safety while driving down Brant st trying to avoid being hit by a car while in a live lane .
Great subject to bring to the forefront!!! Sorry to burst the bubble!! Pop Up patios are great with sensible planning. Planning as we have been experiencing on the quantity and heights of the OP density for the downtown, has now come to light with the approval of pop up patios to which one location has the potential of causing real serious traffic safety problems. Today, the Coop with their Pop Up patio taking up their parking spaces in front of their restaurant, had a large food transport truck with a staged ramp for unloading food. Traffic coming down Brant to Lakeshore “had no lane” to move! They were trying to slip into the other lane to pass the illegally parked transport?? Next to impossible, and not legal with traffic coming in that lane! Condo Building residents next door to the Coop making a left hand turn onto Brant St. could “see absolutely nothing” going forward! It was a perfect scenario for an accident and possibly a fatality depending on the angle of the hit. This is the acceptable traffic flow that the City thinks is well planned, and we have 17 skyscrapers in the vicinity of Pearl to Maple and Lakeshore to Caroline given the go ahead with this problem multiplying many times over?? Please share your thoughts on this being an ongoing road safety disaster that needs stringent road rules and regulations mandated, before any development is approved. They must have their own, “off the street parking lot spaces”, for transports, trucks, garbage pickup, taxis, deliveries, visitors, etc.