(rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

cost savings?

City to consider keeping Ross Street Patio open longer

Oct 9, 2020 | 7:31 PM

The popular downtown summertime attraction known as the Ross Street Patio could become a mainstay into the winter months.

Owners at three downtown businesses — Tribe, The Velvet Olive and Tacoloft — collaborated last month on a letter to the mayor and city council. In it they note that the patio has provided attractiveness to the downtown, as well as outdoor space for the community, both during a time when COVID-19 has caused financial and social challenges.

“It’s worth noting that each business has incurred higher costs to build and install larger patios. There’s also the added effort and cost to disassembling and storing a larger amount of materials for the winter,” the letter reads. “Since DBA funding has been cut dramatically for the 2021 budget, we need all the help we can get to help bring people to the downtown district. The expanded patio this year has literally saved some of the businesses on Ross Street after being closed for three and a half months.”

They also write that in these times, the patio space may be “paramount” to the success of the Ross Street business community.

The patio has allowed for physically distanced music events, it also notes.

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“We understand that finances are tough for our City this year,” the group of owners acknowledge. “By leaving the patio in place, you’ll not only help the local businesses to thrive, but also decrease the expenses associated with the removal of the patio, as well as provide outdoor programming space that is so essential to community health.”

The City spends about $15,000 each time it sets up and takes down the patio.

“We anticipate that within the next couple of weeks, we will have a decision related to whether we will extend the Ross Street Patio beyond beyond the spring and summer season,” says Tara Shand, Corporate Communications Manager at The City of Red Deer.

“Our folks with the City are currently out talking to businesses located along the Ross Street Patio, as well those located in our core more broadly, to find out what opportunities may exist, and what opinions businesses have related to a desire for an extension of the patio season.”

As for patios other than the one on Ross Street, rules vary depending on whether one is on private or City-owned property. All must obtain a permit, but the four downtown under the City’s patio program are required to come down by end of October.

Erin Stuart with Inspections and Licensing says the City hasn’t received any interest from those patio operators to keep them open longer.

Patios on private property are typically permitted to stay up year-round as long as the development permit allows it.