Council will vote to remove from last year's budget the $540,000 construction of a permanent public washroom facility in Towne Square, citing cost-saving measures and a reduced need due to increased hours of operation for transit facilities.--NEWS PHOTO BRENDAN MILLER
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City council will vote on whether to remove from the 2023 capital budget a $540,000 item for downtown public washrooms, after members of the public services committee discussed both the cost and the need.
Last year council approved debt funding in the 2023 capital budget for the construction of a washroom at Towne Square, however the project was delayed while other public washroom options were looked into.
Originally the washroom fit into the city’s framework to help ease public cleanliness concerns downtown. The city also suggested a washroom facility would enhance nearby livability and support local tourism.
The facility was planned to be built partially under the Towne Square canopy, or in the parking lot, requiring the removal of large amounts of concrete and asphalt to relocate deep utility services.
Committee members voted during a public meeting Monday to have council decide on the item’s cancellation from the 2023 capital budget.
“I would like to hear what council has to say about it,” Coun. Roman Robins. “I think it makes financial sense to not build the bathrooms in Towne Square, and I think it makes financial sense and many other reasons that the security in the transit area is effective.”
Last year, the city extended its washroom hours and onsite security at the downtown transit terminal, and council approved $96,000 in funding so security coverage could be extended to 24 hours a day.
Since expanding hours 15 months ago, utilization of the public washrooms in the transit building has grown from an average of 570 users per month in Aug. 2023, to more than 1,500 per month currently.
“That is significant, so obviously making a difference,” said Robins. “And the other thing I think makes a difference is what your transit drivers are saying about their own security and how they feel about it.”
Since the increased security presence the city reports a decrease in graffiti, vandalism and the amount of bio-waste throughout the facility.
“If we are going to build a washroom somewhere else downtown that gets locked, we lose the security that the transit drivers have come to appreciate, and also the riders of the transit in those evening hours and the people that park there – there’s just a lot of benefit beyond watching the bathroom and watching people going in and out of the bathroom,” says Robins.
“It’s a success, there’s availability to people that don’t have a washroom to use night or day, people feel safer as well during those times, whether you’re parking your car or using transit,” said Coun. Cassi Hider.
Given the history of vandalism and misuse of the space at Towne Square, the city and police also anticipate additional security would be required at a newly constructed washroom facility in the area.
“I think it’s a positive that we do not build a bathroom in Towne Square,” added Hider.
