Were sidewalk & roadway patios not common in San Francisco pre-pandemic or something?
The concept is nothing new, they've only been expanded and regulations loosened out of current necessity everywhere - which will hopefully become lasting changes.
There a lot of new "pandemic patios" spilling into the street in Toronto (basically any restaurant whether or not they already have one is eligible provided there's sufficient road space), which are mostly pretty utilitarian and ugly - big orange pylons that've been hastily thrown up. But as more of them become permanent expect to see better designs. In the meantime though they've been lifelines for struggling restaurants and have brought some much-needed vitality back to the streets.
https://www.blogto.com/slideshows/be...-toronto/17496
The permanent ones that were already existing pre-Covid don't look so bad:
https://www.blogto.com/slideshows/be...-toronto/17496