City cautiously begins gradual reopening process

Email icon Back to Search

BRANTFORD, ON: On Monday June 8, the Province announced that the City of Brantford and the County of Brant, along with 23 other jurisdictions, are permitted to advance to Stage 2 of the Province’s re-opening plan beginning Friday, June 12, 2020.

“While the City is certainly encouraged that we can enter this next phase, we also feel it’s important to proceed with caution”, said City of Brantford Chief Administrative Officer and Brantford’s EOC Commander, Brian Hutchings. “We have been successful in keeping the rate of COVID-19 transmission down in our community because we’ve been so diligent and cautious in managing this crisis from the beginning. We feel very strongly that we need to continue this approach to keep our case numbers down.”

Consistent with the Province’s re-opening framework, today, the City announced plans for the gradual reopening of City services as follows:

Child Care
While the province announced child care centres and home care providers will be able to reopen as early as June 12, 2020, there is a great deal of preparation work that local operators need to complete before they can begin to reopen safely in accordance with the operational requirements and guidelines for reopening issued by the Province.

The health and safety of children, families and childcare centre staff must remain paramount in the decisions of local operators to reopen. Together with the Brant County Health Unit, the City of Brantford is committed to working with our licensed child care operators and local school boards to help ensure they are meeting criteria to reopen safely.

The City appreciates the public’s patience while child care centres do the work required to update their priority/waitlist policies to account for limited capacity when reopening and to meet the new protocols that must be in place before they are approved to reopen safely. Child Care Centres will communicate with clients directly regarding their policies, expectations and new protocols and how they may impact individual child care spaces as soon as these plans are finalized.

With the announcement that emergency child care funding for frontline workers will end June 26th, the City will also do everything possible to assist frontline worker families through this transition.
For general questions regarding child care services and fee subsidies, please contact Children’s Services department staff at the City at 519-759-4150.

Local Businesses
Consistent with the provincial reopening framework, local businesses that are permitted to reopen must follow strict, sector specific public health guidelines. The Province has produced 105 guidance documents for business sectors set to re-open to help ensure that both employees and the public remain safe. Businesses are strongly encouraged to consult the provincial guidelines to ensure they are meeting protocols to safely reopen. Opening of existing patios or extensions of patios that are in compliance with the City’s zoning by-law are still subject to public health physical distancing guidelines. As some of our neighboring jurisdictions remain in Stage 1 of re-opening, the emphasis on local businesses abiding by their sector specific guidelines is essential.

  1. In the City of Brantford, businesses who already had permits to serve food and beverages on outdoor patios prior to the pandemic are permitted to open again as early as June 12, 2020 if all criteria in accordance with the provincial guidelines has been met.
  2. If businesses want to extend their patio/outdoor serving spaces on their own property, they need to contact the City’s Planning Department at 519-759-4150 to ensure they are in compliance with the City’s Zoning By-law.
  3. Given the current economic climate, the City of Brantford recognizes the necessity to expedite the permit approval process for businesses that do not currently have approved permits for patio service or for those wishing to extend their patios beyond their current space. To that end, City staff intend to bring a report forward to a Special City Council meeting on June 16th called by the Mayor, for Council to consider temporary measures to assist restaurants and bars in expanding their patios. .
  4. Council will also consider temporary measures to allow businesses to use existing on-street parking, in order that they may operate safely, while meeting physical distancing requirements.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS
As some park amenities and outdoor facilities have gradually reopened, the public is reminded not to gather in groups of 10 or more and to practice physical distancing (6 feet) from others at all times in public. Playground structures and other amenities that are caution taped remain closed at this time.

Currently Closed

  • Skate parks
  • Park play equipment
  • Outdoor exercise equipment
  • Picnic tables
  • Picnic shelters
  • Multi-use pads
  • Sports fields
  • Washroom buildings
  • Splash pads
  • Pools
  • Lawn bowling
  • Bocce

Currently Open:

  • Parks and trails for walking and cycling while physical distancing
  • Parking lots at parks and trails
  • Benches
  • Northridge and Arrowdale golf courses
  • Disc golf at Mohawk Park
  • Tennis and pickleball at Steve Brown Sports Park (two people per court maximum)
  • Running track at Steve Brown Sports Park
  • Mulch bins
  • Dogford Park Dog Park (12 person maximum, 30-minute time limit)
  • Dufferin Park Tennis courts from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (12 person maximum)
  • Bike Park at Rotary Centennial Waterworks Park from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (15 person maximum, 30-minute time limit)

The public is reminded that ATVs, e-bikes and motorized bikes are not permitted on trails. Motorized wheelchairs and scooters used for accessibility are allowed. Bicycles and leashed dogs are also permitted. All trail users must keep a physical distance of at least 2 metres (6 feet) from others and are asked not to congregate while using trails.

Stay Vigilant
Patrons of local businesses and services still have a responsibility to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Physical distancing and thorough hand hygiene are still the most effective ways to combat spread of the disease. Wash hands frequently, physically distance yourself two metres from others in public at all times and wear a face covering in situations where physical distancing is difficult.

Additional updates regarding City programs and services will be announced in the coming days and shared on the City’s Facebook and Twitter pages and at brantford.ca/Covid-19.

-30-

Media Contact
Maria Visocchi - Director, Communications and Community Engagement
City of Brantford | 519.751.9900 ext. 5754 | mvisocchi@brantford.ca