Blurring Public and Private - Part 3

A few months ago I wrote two posts about how the distinction between "public" and "private" space seems to be blurring. I looked at developments where there was public use of private space -- for example, a public walkway meandering through a private residential development, or circumventing a golf course. I included photos of examples I've encountered in Victoria:

Part 1 -- https://linesfromthecoast.blogspot.com/2022/03/blurring-public-and-private-part-1.html

Part 2 - https://linesfromthecoast.blogspot.com/2022/05/blurring-public-and-private-part-2.html

In Part 3 I focus on the other side of the story -- the private use of public space.

Since it's now the end of summer, and restaurant patios are everywhere, I have found many examples of private restaurant and coffee shop patios using public roads, sidewalks and boulevards.

The diverse use of sidewalks and roads for people-oriented activites adds to the vibrancy of the street scene in Victoria. And I am all for greater use of pavement by people, and reduced use for vehicles - either driving or parking.

Some of this use of streets and sidewalks was driven by the city's response to Covid, and social distancing. We are now into our third summer living with Covid, and there is much less emphasis on social distancing, but I'm happy to see the spillover of restaurants onto public space continues. The city has a sidewalk patio policy, and a permitting process, to manage all this.

I'll start with an attractive scene from spring, at the "Finest at Sea" fish market and restaurant on Erie Street.

This image shows how the restaurant uses the street for seating, and has demarcated the boundary with  planters.

Here is another image of the patio later in summer, showing how the seating area has migrated down the public boulevard.

Finest at Sea outdoor patio area. Note that Victoria's Mediterranean climate means that our summers are dry; hence the brown grass. Grass begins to green again in October when the fall rains begin.

Another well known street that is used by restaurants for outdoor patios is Government Street downtown. For several blocks, portions of the street have been pedestrian-only for awhile now. There is a variety of public seating, but there are also many outdoor patios for the exclusive use of restaurant customers.

Here are a few images taken at various times over the past few months. 

Public sitting area outside Munro's Books on Government Street

Seating area for Murchies. This seating area is fairly open, and I imagine it might be used by non-Murchies' customers. 

The street scene before Murchies. 

The extensive patio at Earl's restaurant. The patio expanded further into Government Street this spring. The passageway for pedestrians between the two sections of the patio is quite narrow, barely wide enough for two people to pass. 

Earl's patio (right), showing the infrastructure the restaurant has provided.This patio is very clearly dedicated to Earls' customers only. Other restaurant patios can be seen in the background.

One more view of Earls' patio on Government Street. Note the storage facility for propane bottles to fuel the outdoor heaters.

Bard & Banker's outside patio, showing the hostess station that the restaurant has set up outside.

Another view of Bard and Banker's patio in Government Street. Like Earl's, this restaurant has invested in fencing, umbrellas, and infrastructure like heaters to assist the comfort of patrons.

On this wet day in early February, there were no patrons outside. But the open umbrellas show there might have been! This image illustrates the relationship to the road and sidewalk of the patio, and how the fence demarcates the private space.

The patio area of the Irish Times Pub, also downtown on Government Street.

It's part of our "cafe culture",  to be able to sit outisde in the summer, or as long as the weather permits. And with Covid and social distancing, being outside has often felt "safer" than inside.

Over the summer, Victoria's Council voted to allocate funds to make Government Street a pedestrian-focussed area with two public plazas, one at the south entrance off Humboldt Street, and one at Chinatown. The street will not be completely closed to vehicles, but it will be primarily pedestrian-only. The shuttles from the Cruise ships used to go down Government Street, but now travel down the less pedestrian-oriented Blanshard Street, and drop passengers at Yates and Government Street.

Downtown outdoor patios are not limited to Government Street. 

The 10 Acres Bistro on Courtney Street changes its decor between winter and summer. In winter the patio includes comfortable seats and a cheery fireplace.

This image provides a better sense of the relationship of the patio to the sidewalk and the street.

In summer the patio furniture changes, to accommodate more people.

The 10 Acres Bistro patio from the other direction, in summer

There are many more restaurants downtown with outside patios on the sidewalk and curb. The photos I've used in this post give just a flavour.

Cafe Fantastico at the Parkside Hotel has spilled over into Humboldt Street:

The patio for Cafe Fantastico at the Parkside Hotel, on Humboldt Street.

The Humboldt Street bike lane is immediately to the left of the patio. 

A cyclist can be seen approaching, immediately beside the patio.

Here are some street scenes from the Cook Street Village area.

The Beagle Pub, Cook Street, has invested in patio fencing, in the same way that some of the Government Street restaurants downtown have.

Use of the McKenzie Street boulevard by Big Wheel Burger, Cook Street Village.

Outside the Hot & Cold Cafe on Cook Street. Here, the patio is situated on the edge of the busy street.

Google Street View of the Hot & Cold cafe from August  2017 - the height of summer. This was before Covid, and before the city expanded its policy for use of public streets and sidewalks by businesses. To me, this looks sterile. I much prefer the vibrancy of the previous image.

A cheery scene from the west side of Cook Street, in the Cook Street Village.

I have devoted most of this post on public / private to restaurant and cafe patios on public sidewalks and roads. But there are other private uses of public space, and I'll give them a brief nod.

First, there's the use of public space for stores to display their wares. Here are a couple of scenes from the Cook Street Village:

Both the gardening shop, and the dress shop, have used sidewalk space to display goods for sale.

Colourful fruits and vegetables outside a health food store on Cook Street.

I will finish the post with a couple of examples of individual household use of boulevards for vegetable growing. In previous posts I've mentioned boulevard gardens, in the context of food in the city (https://linesfromthecoast.blogspot.com/2020/05/food-in-city.html) and use of streets for people instead of cars (https://linesfromthecoast.blogspot.com/2020/07/streets-are-for-people.html)

Boulevard vegetable garden, Fairfield

Boulevard garden, Niagara Street

I enjoy exploring the many ways that private use is being made of public assets, and conversely, public use of private assets. And I'm glad to see the distinction between what is private and public is blurring. Perhaps ultimately our society will rethink what we mean by the concept of "ownership".