After a more than six hours of discussions about housing, parking and business recovery, Victoria council made several decisions that could change the look and feel of the city this summer.

B次元官网网址淪taff will start working right away on options for cafes, options for retailers to sell their goods and services outside and to make all of downtown feel like an open air market for the whole summer,B次元官网网址� Helps said during a press conference Friday.

Those changes come mostly from an B次元官网网址榦pen air recoveryB次元官网网址� motion in support of restaurants and cafes. Council tasked staff with looking at options for permitting patios in public spaces in order to promote economic recovery once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. The motion, which passed unanimously, asks that accessibility, physical distancing and space for pedestrians is considered.

Some of VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 commercial loading zones will be changed to B次元官网网址榝ree time limited zones after 4 p.m. and on Sundays, while leaving space for the possibility of seating areas for businesses. Council also passed temporary bylaw adjustments to allow businesses to sell items in front of their shops and set up tables and chairs outside restaurants, coffee shops and bakeries.

Businesses will also be able to use public spaces or squares adjacent to their facility.

The City also introduced a new category of neighbourhood grants called recovery and resiliency, opening June 1. The grants will offer up to $5,000 for recovery, resilience and placemaking projects.

B次元官网网址淲e hope neighbourhoods around the city will come together and come up with creative projects and submit their applications into the city,B次元官网网址� Helps said.

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The hotly-debated topic of making Beacon Hill Park into a car-free zone was whittled down to a motion that will see the Victoria landmark B次元官网网址榩edestrianizedB次元官网网址� for the rest of the summer, with cars allowed only in parking lots at Heywood Avenue, Circle Drive and Nursery Road, as well as the roads serving as their closest access points.

Helps emphasized that the change still leaves 80 per cent of parking available.

B次元官网网址淎t the same time, the majority of the park will be open to people walking, rolling and cycling so we can keep those physical distances and keep people safe,B次元官网网址� she said.

The motion included a request to consult with accessibility organizations but Coun. Charlayne Thornton-Joe opposed it with concerns about accessibility. Coun. Marianne Alto also opposed the motion.

The City will also make a request to the province that safe, indoor sheltering options for the regionB次元官网网址檚 unhoused residents become a permanent fixture. The City plans to request transit remain fare-free during the pandemic.

VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 reduced parking fee policy B次元官网网址� which reduced rates to $1 per hour and $85 per month in city parkades B次元官网网址� was extended until June 15. Free monthly youth transit passes are also now ahead of the original September date.

A digital B次元官网网址榬ecovery town hallB次元官网网址� will be held in the coming weeks to share more on the initiatives and answer the publicB次元官网网址檚 questions.

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