Vancouver Council approves motion to expand patios

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) Longer patio hours are on the way in Vancouver after the idea was unanimously passed by council.

Vancouver City Councilor Heather Deal says shes thrilled council passed the motion. We have a very lively patio culture in the City of Vancouver, but we still shut down earlier than many cities around the world, they all have to be abandoned by 11 p.m. During the Olympics we had them open a little later, many of them were open until 1 a.m., we gave it a trial run and it worked very well.

She says you may see small expansions of certain patios this summer. If theyre very good operators, we can look to expand them a small amount or perhaps have them stay open a little later. In the longer run, well be looking at the policies throughout the city and where throughout the city it may make sense to change them on a longer term basis.

Charles Gautier with the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association says its great news. I think itll likely be kinda customized to neighbourhoods rather than being a blanket-type of rules in place, just like theyve done before with other kinds of regulations, which I think is the best way to go.

Gautier says the changes probably wont come into play until next year, after city staff irons out all the kinks. Wed like to go back to our membership and find out what would appeal to them. I think there will be some areas with potential conflicts with residents, there may need to be less long hours, especially during the week.

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Vancouver Council approves motion to expand patios