Community patios open in downtown Pembroke

There are three new options around downtown Pembroke where you can sit back, relax, and enjoy the city.

Three community patios have opened in the downtown for summer and are free for everyone to use for enjoying food or beverages, meeting up, playing games, or even taking a break.

"There was a really good reception and everyone was really excited about it," says Stacey Taylor, vice-chair of the Pembroke BIA, about when they unveiled the patios at the end of June.

"So now we're just really working on promoting them and letting everyone know that they are here, they're community patios for everyone to use."

The new community patios open up 20 new seating options in total around the downtown. They are located on Pembroke Street West, Albert Street, and Victoria Street.

The patios are part of a three-year pilot project and will be set up between May and October.

Taylor says the BIA is hoping the spaces will bring new life to the downtown.

"I think most downtowns need it to a certain extent," Taylor told CTV News. "We want to animate the downtown and make it welcoming, and we want to make it a go-to place not just for our community but for other communities, anyone who is a tourist and coming to the area."

Operating in the downtown since only April, LOAF Artisan Bakery owner Sebastian Zuniga-Contreras says although he already has his own indoor seating, the additional patios will help his business.

"Some people just want to hang out downtown," says the baker, "and then they will eventually want to buy something which helps the economy."

The new patios are not the only change to the area, and could come with a catch. Anyone driving into downtown Pembroke and caught sitting at them too long could end up with a parking ticket, with the city eliminating free street parking in the downtown.

"We felt that with the loss of the income over the year that it tends to be quite a bit," says Pembroke Mayor Mike LeMay. "We thought okay, now would be the time again, let's put it back in place."

LeMay says paid street parking brings in between $50,000 to $80,000 per year for the city, which is money that will help the evolution of the downtown.

"It's been getting better," says Zuniga-Contreras of the changing downtown landscape, "and I think it's going to get better as long as we don't do small mess ups like take away free parking. That's a trial and error and we'll see if that works or not."