A patio is blocking accessible parking in Belmont Village. Advocates say that's not fair

The patio of a Belmont Village restaurant is blocking an accessible parking spot, and that's raising questions about what people with physical disabilities may need to fully enjoy public spaces. 

Casa Rugantino is an Italian restaurant in the heart of Kitchener's Belmont Village. Their patio fences off one of the only accessible parking spots in all of Belmont Village, and that's not sitting right with resident Macie Anderson.

Anderson doesn't have any accessibility needs herself, but she said she is a frequent visitor of the area with her family, and seeing the patio block the spot made her concerned.

She noted that the parking spot has been blocked every summer since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, when outdoor patios became a lifeline to restaurants needing distant spaces for their patrons. 

"We love the area, obviously love supporting local and we love the restaurant," Anderson said. When she realized the accessible space was being blocked off repeatedly during summer months, she spoke with the Casa Rugantino's owner and the city of Kitchener itself. 

Anderson said the owner, Shelly Trotta, told her that she was under the impression the city had taken care of the oversight. 

"[Trotta] assumed that because they gave them the permit and they allowed them to build the patio that the city was then going to add an additional accessible spot for the area somewhere else," Anderson said. 

CBC News reached out to the restaurant several times by phone and email but have not received a response.

The city said that they had collaborated with the Belmont Village BIA board of members and determined that "the area remains well-served with parking."

The city confirmed that Casa Rugantino operated its expanded patio on an outdoor patio permit that renews automatically unless a business informs the city of a change or discontinuation. They said Casa Rugantino was compliant with all city and legal standards. 

Anderson said that despite ample street-side parking in Belmont Village, designated accessible parking spots were few and far between. There are a total of three accessible spaces in the area, including the one being blocked. 

"It's not ideal and it's already a bit of a sore spot for the area just from going there a lot of times to the buildings myself," she said. She said she's seen many older residents grow frustrated over a lack of available parking that's designed specifically for people who need to be closer to places like medical buildings. 

"Belmont is such an inclusive small village that has been so good to the businesses in the area and the people... and then this glaring issue of completely disregarding anybody with an accessibility issue, I don't know, just stood out to me," she said. 

'Double-edged sword' of accessibility 

Kitchener city officials say Casa Rugantino is well within its rights to expand its outdoor patio to the street-side parking, but some advocates are saying that situations like these are a give-and-take. 

Edward Faruzel is the executive director of KW AccessAbility, a non-profit dedicated to creating equal spaces for adults with physical disabilities in Waterloo region. 

"It's sort of a double-edged sword. If it's done right, it can be amazing because [outdoor patios] could open up a whole lot of extra accessible seating areas that might otherwise not be available to somebody in a wheelchair," he said. 

As a wheelchair user himself, Faruzel is aware of how difficult it can be to get safe, accessible street parking in the downtown cores of Kitchener and Waterloo to begin with. He said summertime is normally "the most important time for people with disabilities."

"It's so much easier for people to get around... there's no snow, they don't have to bundle up," he said. 

Devin Sisak, the former chair of the Cambridge accessibility committee, agrees. His son uses a wheelchair and their family is very familiar with the parking situation in Belmont Village.

He confirmed that there were only three accessible parking spots in the village. He said most outdoor patios tend to be better for mobility as long as they're not encroaching on safe parking. 

"We have a very limited number of accessible on-street parking in the region just because of safety. People are exiting their vehicles. So if you're driving and transferring to a mobility device, you'd be transferring into the edge of traffic just the same as an able-bodied driver," he said.

That being said, he did say that the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) requires a temporary spot to be put in place of any accessible spot being taken away in order to maintain legal numbers. 

"It gets into percentages," Sisak said, adding regions are required to maintain a certain amount of accessible parking spaces based on already available parking and other considerations. He said there are most likely ways to designate new accessible parking spots in areas being blocked off by outdoor patios. 

Faruzel said a bigger concern might also be busy traffic areas of downtown cores in the region. He said that parking is so sparse on busy streets that it may be a better alternative to consider shutting down certain streets for ease of pedestrian mobility in general. 

Other barriers and moving forward

Chantal Huinink is a lifelong disability advocate, a councillor for the Region of Waterloo and she sits on the Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee (GRAAC). She said the biggest concern with accessible spots is making sure there's enough space for an accessible van to function if a wheelchair user is getting on and off. 

Summertime, she said, comes with a whole host of other accessibility considerations. 

"It's not just about parking spots. It's about sandwich boards, the sidewalk or flower beds that aren't there in the winter. If people are navigating and they're visually impaired, for example, there are all kinds of features to be aware of in the summer," she said. 

"This requires the attention of the municipality, it requires the attention of the region and it requires the attention of the province and enforcement of the AODA because that's a positive legislation meant to make Ontario accessible for everyone, but it's not enforced properly," she said. 

In the meantime, the city of Kitchener said in an email that given the number of resident complaints, they are now looking into adding "a barrier-free space to replace the space occupied by the patio."