WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — As the colder winter months approach, the Town of West Hartford has announced it will be removing outdoor dining barriers from the street in preparations for winter storm operations.
The town will begin its removal of the barriers on November 16 at 5 AM and will start on LaSalle Road and Farmington Avenue. They then will move to Isham on November 17, if the weather allows it. The road on Farmington Avenue, Isham Road, and Memorial Road will return to the original traffic pattern.
LaSalle Road will remain the one-way northbound lane. A bike lane will be added to both sides of the road. Free 15 to 30-minute curbside pick-up of take-out orders at 33 locations on LaSalle Road, South Main Street, Farmington Avenue, Memorial Road, and Isham Road will continue.
The Town of West Hartford says it will continue to support local businesses in the coming winter months, so restaurants can continue to serve customers when the barriers are removed. Restaurants will have the opportunity to submit a request to the Zoning Office to cover and heat their outdoor dining areas that have been previously approved. Restaurants will be able to fully enclose the dining area in the structure.
The town of West Hartford said the outdoor dining areas were a success and would like to repeat the on-street dining next summer. However, if Governor Ned Lamont's executive order which allows placing structures in the road expires, West Hartford will not have the authority to do so without a zoning change. The town added it hopes to get a zoning change to allow season on-street dining on a permanent basis.
Restaurants have been allowed to expand their dining areas in a response to COVID-19. Recently, Connecticut rolled back COVID-19 restrictions to Phase 2.1, impacting the occupant capacity of restaurants across the state.