Montreal is recognized for its patio culture. As soon as the very first warm day of spring hits, the city spills out onto the caf-lined sidewalks to sip cafs au lait and cocktails with pals and neighbours. But emerging trends in urban organizing - the move away from vehicle dependent cities and towards greater-density living - are seeing this very Continental tradition transported towards the Rest of Canada, which includes affluent Toronto suburb, Oakville. City planners there are on the hunt for techniques to encourage the improvement of terrasse restaurants in Oakville.

Why encourage patio restaurants in Oakville?

It is all element of the ongoing quest to make our cities a lot more livable. It is usually agreed upon that the ideal city is compact, but with quiet spaces as well as lots of outdoor interaction between habitants. In a sense, urban planners of today are attempting to bring a little bit of the feel of the medieval town square into our downtowns. Terrasse restaurants in Oakville are meant to contribute to the social fabric of the city, to encourage the friendly interaction among citizens, and to foster a feeling of living in a friendly village.

Possibilities for patio restaurants in Oakville

Some neighbourhoods present a lot more opportunities than other individuals for patio restaurants in Oakville:

The Bronte Village neighbourhood has a lot of prospective for terrasse restaurants since of a quirk of its previous development. The lingering impact of a road-widening work on the element of the provincial government has left the positioning of buildings vis--vis the road at a selection of distances. These uneven spaces develop more area for patio restaurants. In Oakville's other neighbhourhoods, this is not the case.

The Kerr Village neighbourhood has been searching at the possibility of extending certain roadways with an eye to adding wider-than-typical sidewalks with a lot of space to accommodate terrasse restaurants. (In Oakville, Kerr Village is known as a multicultural hub).

By-laws concerning patio restaurants in Oakville

Anybody preparing to build patio restaurants in Oakville must, of course, check very first with the municipality. There are certain guidelines, for instance, concerning:

the building of patio restaurants in Oakville next to residential neighbourhoods
permittable climate shielding structures on patio restaurants in Oakville (such as awnings and canopies)

Reside music is permitted at some terrasse restaurants in Oakville, but some conflicts concerning this matter have prompted a assessment of the city's noise by-law.

In general, nevertheless, public help for terrasse restaurants in Oakville appears to be fairly high.