Louisville City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved closing portions of Main Street in Downtown Louisville to allow for a summer outdoor dining program to give restaurants options while reopening after the coronavirus pandemic impacted businesses in the city.
The approval of the new measure comes a day after Gov. Jared Polis announced Colorado restaurants on Wednesday can begin to seat a limited number of customers inside their dining rooms.
To prepare for this reopening, city staff have been working with business owners and the Downtown Business Association on ways to assist in the transition for food and beverage establishments to re-open and begin to recover.
City staff offered Council alternative models for outdoor dining to help restaurants transition to expand operations while maintaining requirements for spacing, capacity and health practices.
The resolution allowing the outdoor dining program states City Manager Heather Balser will determine its start date, but Council agreed the program would end Oct. 5, unless they decide to extend it.
In addition to closing a portion of Main Street to vehicles, some other components of the program could include designating curbside take-out areas and potential food hall areas in city-owned parking lots. Staff are still confirming some aspects of the program, including coordinating with police and fire safety, and maintaining accessibility to the restaurants.
Main Street is expected to be closed from Walnut Street to Elm Street while eastbound and westbound streets will be open to cross traffic.
The city’s annual Downtown Patio Program, which deploys 26 12-foot patios on Main and Front Streets, is not feasible with meeting physical distancing needs, staff said.
Businesses will be required to maintain designated seating areas and sanitize tables and seats between use.
“I’m not naive to think this will be easy for everyone, it won’t be,” said Mayor Ashley Stolzmann.
She added that this could be a benefit for businesses who have had limited business or have had to close entirely due to the pandemic.
State guidelines restaurants will need to follow for indoor dining include limiting the number of diners to half the occupancy allowed by the city, up to a maximum of 50 people; limiting groups to eight people and spacing tables six feet apart or more.
Businesses are also encouraged to keep as many windows and doors open to increase the airflow.
Councilmember Deb Fahey said she would like to see the program expanded to all restaurants in the city, not just those in Downtown.
Dr. CJ Roffis with Eyeworks Louisville said this program could negatively impact his business.
“A lot of people who come here are elderly,” Roffis said. “If there’s no parking, they will have to walk many blocks to get here, it becomes a problem. I think it will cost me thousands upon thousands of dollars if people cannot get to me.”
Part of the agreement will allow city staff to approve the actual street layout in order to be “flexible and efficient.”
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Louisville City Council approves closing portions of Main Street to allow outdoor dining - Colorado Hometown Weekly
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