No public washrooms coming to Towne Square but mayor says downtown bathroom access still an issue

By Collin Gallant on January 10, 2025.

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A budget item to add a public washroom to Towne Square is dead, but the issue of public accessing bathrooms in the city centre is not settled, according to Mayor Linnsie Clark.

Councillors voted unanimously to remove a $540,000 borrowing bylaw to build facilities at the remade parking lot and event space across from city hall.

They stated that increased security at the transit terminal bathrooms and a city hall campaign directing people to other public buildings negated the need to instal water and sewer lines to the site that was largely redeveloped with grants in 2021.

A limited survey of business owners and downtown residents done in November however, suggests about half still see the evidence of outdoor toilet use in the area.

“I don’t read that as residents and business owners feeling there are sufficient facilities,” said Clark, who said the city is maintaining the project, but could still market it for sale and redevelopment.

“What’s the future of Towne Square? We don’t want to put in a bunch of infrastructure only to destroy it. I’ll support it (cancelling the project), but it doesn’t look to me that the bathroom issue is resolved.”

Clark led questioning of the potential cost overruns of the washroom that came to council shortly after the 2021 municipal election.

The plan was halted in early 2022 and for the last two years staffers have promoted and tracked usage of bathrooms in other public buildings in the city centre.

Since the summer of 2023, the city has also paid to have 24-hour security guards present at the transit terminal two blocks away.

That, say administrators, has reduced costly damage and vandalism there, while average usage has tripled over one year.

Coun. Alison Van Dyke said work has changed the dynamics of the issue.

“If we’d continued on with market stalls and additional community events at Town Square, I’d have wanted to see additional bathrooms there,” said Van Dyke. “We’ve moved away from that direction – this is probably the most prudent way forward financially … there was good work done by administration to find more washrooms in the downtown.”

Staff also estimated that operating the new washroom could cost as much as $285,000 per year to clean, provide security and repair vandalism and damage.

Coun. Ramona Robins questioned the financial implications of reducing the planned borrowing bylaw. If paid off over 10 years at today’s rates, the annual payments of $68,400 would have led to total interest payment of $144,000.

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