{"id":592325,"date":"2026-04-09T11:02:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T11:02:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/592325\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T11:02:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T11:02:13","slug":"could-toronto-streets-see-more-food-and-music-city-considering-update-to-vending-busking-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/592325\/","title":{"rendered":"Could Toronto streets see more food and music? City considering update to vending, busking rules"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Toronto\u2019s streets could soon see some lively changes, with more food trucks, vendors and buskers,\u00a0as the city considers changes to licensing bylaws.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The city is considering lowering permit fees, extending vending hours and allowing merchandise, jewelry and crafts to be sold on public sidewalks. Toronto also could see the end of a decades-old ban on new food truck permits in the downtown core.<\/p>\n

The recommended changes are set to go before a municipal committee Thursday and, if approved, will be put to council for a final vote in April.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The updates aim to make the bylaws simpler to follow, create more opportunities for vendors and “enhance cultural vibrancy” in the city, Gadi Katz the executive director of the City of Toronto\u2019s licensing department, said in a statement Wednesday.<\/p>\n

“The proposed changes modernize outdated bylaws and replace a one-size-fits-all approach with clearer, more flexible rules that reflect how cities and small businesses operate today,” Katz said.<\/p>\n

Buskers would also be allowed to use amps between noon and 8 p.m, something street performer Kyle Sipkens says would be helpful to draw crowds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAmplification is definitely one of those [needed] improvements because, as you can tell, there’s a lot of competing sound around,” he told with CBC Toronto over the noise in Sankofa Square.<\/p>\n

\"ABusker Kyle Sipkens says he’s happy with the proposed changes to busking rules, and would also like to see the city allow busking in more areas, like parks. (Vedran Lesic\/CBC)<\/p>\n

If approved, most changes would be implemented next year. But a few, like increasing permits and hours for food trucks, would go into effect before the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is expected to bring a significant wave of visitors to the city.<\/p>\n

Supporting the busking and street-vending industry is good for tourism, says Wayne Smith, a tourism and hospitality professor at Toronto Metropolitan University. He said happening upon a local performer or food truck can enhance visitors\u2019 experience of a city.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s one thing to go to a place and you sort of know what you’re going to get. It’s another one to get a really pleasant surprise,\u201d he said. He said tourists often like to feel like they\u2019re supporting the local economy.<\/p>\n

Ban on new food vendor licences could end this summer<\/p>\n

One of the changes that could be coming this summer is an end to a 2002 memorandum that banned new food vendor licenses in the downtown core. Vendors could also see a seven-hour extension of how long they can sell in one place. By June 15, the time limit would increase from five hours to 12.<\/p>\n

But some food vendors aren\u2019t happy about the by-law changes, according to Ada Mok, owner of FeasTO food truck. She said the proposed bylaws include a rule that would give a select few businesses a leg-up on accessing\u00a0 the downtown market.<\/p>\n

Several legacy food vendors received permits allowing them to operate in a designated spot before 2014. These permits were previously set to expire January next year. But under the proposed new bylaws, they will not have an expiry date.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is really unfair because we’re all food trucks and we’re all in the same industry,\u201d said Mok.<\/p>\n

\"AMok said she wants the city to harmonize food vendor licensing to level the industry’s playing field. (Paul Borkwood\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Mok said most of these spots are located in high-traffic areas like near city hall or near sporting events. Meanwhile, other vendors compete with each other and regular drivers to find a place to park, said Mok.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Having to avoid areas with bike or transit lanes, and with regulations banning them from parking near restaurants and schools, she said newer vendors are shut out from accessing downtown sales opportunities.<\/p>\n

She said she wants the city to let the legacy permits expire and harmonize food truck licensing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMake everything fair, make it an equal playing field so we can all just compete based on the quality of our food,\u201d said Mok.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ending legacy vendor’s permit expirations aims to \u201cprovide stability for a very small number of long standing curb lane vendors,\u201d Katz said in a statement to CBC Toronto, saying only 15 operators hold this type of permit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The permits are non-transferable and will end when the holders choose to close their businesses, Katz said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":592326,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194291],"tags":[49,48,3302],"class_list":["post-592325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-toronto","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-toronto"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=592325"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592325\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/592326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=592325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=592325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=592325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}