Restart Montco - Outdoor Dining
How To Provide Outdoor Dining When Space Is Limited
Outdoor dining is one way in which local restaurants have adapted to providing the “going out” experience that many people have missed during the pandemic. It allows for proper social distancing while enabling businesses to help restart the economy.
Resources
Websites
- Pennsylvania’s "Guidance for Businesses in the Restaurant Industry Permitted to Operate During the COVID-19 Disaster Emergency to Ensure the Safety and Health of Employees and the Public:"
This guidance document addresses the procedures businesses in the restaurant industry must follow to limit the spread of COVID-19 to the extent they are permitted to conduct in-person operations. - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s "Considerations for Restaurants and Bars:"
Guidance from the CDC for ways in which restaurants and bars can protect employees, customers, and communities and slow the spread of COVID-19 as they resume operations.
Articles
- Streets for Pandemic Response & Recovery
This guidance tool from NACTO synthesizes common methods communities are using to adapt streets to support businesses and allow for more flexibility. - The Recovery Will Happen In Public Space
This article from Project for Public Spaces describes a wide variety of ways that activities can be shifted to outdoor public spaces, such as streets, sidewalks, and plazas; and includes examples from around the world.
Municipal Examples
- Temporary Regulations for Outdoor Dining and Merchandise Sales
Lower Merion Township adopted a resolution creating temporary regulations that allow outdoor dining and outdoor merchandise sales to be expanded into public and private parking lots, subject to restrictions. - E. 1st Avenue to Close for Outdoor Dining Between Fayette & Harry Street
Conshohocken Borough has announced a schedule for limited street closures to enable additional outdoor dining. - COVID-19 Commercial Recovery Outdoor Dining Guidelines - City of Philadelphia
The City of Philadelphia has released a guide that includes location requirements and design guidelines for multiple creative outdoor dining options, including sidewalk cafes and temporary street closures. - Reimagining Outdoor Space Guide for Restaurants and Retailers - DC Health
The District of Columbia’s document “Reimagining Outdoor Space” outlines ways in which restaurants and retail businesses can transform outdoor spaces.