Among the issues covered in the document are outdoor dining areas and footpath signs, subjects that have been raised before because they can affect people’s experience moving around the CBD.

Footpath signs or sandwich boards raise the ire of councillors from time to time, usually when the number of signs get out of control and they become an eyesore or a trip hazard.

Businesses that rely on them probably can’t see what all the fuss is about but pedestrians who find their progress impeded as they make their way along the street get upset, and with good reason. 

Dining at footpath tables can also present challenges for other users of this public space if it not managed well.

Having to weave between tables or squeeze out the passenger door of a car parked beside one of those signs which mark out a cafe’s space on the footpath can be annoying.

The problem is that there has not always been enforcement of the rules that do exist. Two years ago councillors conceded there was a problem with footpath advertising but their solution was to approve a moratorium so that business houses could apply for the necessary permits. 

Outdoor dining rules also seem to have fallen by the wayside.

Cafe patrons probably don’t care whether their favourite table is technically too close to the kerb and most pedestrians stride past the same sandwich boards day after day, but their attitudes would harden if every shop front in the CBD boasted a footpath sign and every cafe decided to expand their seating by encroaching on the footpath.

A set of rules that reflects what the community thinks is reasonable and some occasional enforcement is all that’s really required.