Where Are the Public Washrooms?
In response to my recent article on Songhees Park, one of the items that quite a few people pointed out that was missing from my list of needed improvements at the park, were public washrooms. I have to say I feel a little embarrassed that I had overlooked this integral piece of infrastructure, as public washrooms are something that I have often said we need to add across the city. I might even ask for washrooms as often as I have for more food kiosks.
When I am planning an outing for the day, one of my key considerations is where we will go to the washroom. If we want people to increase their time out in the public realm, we need to give them somewhere to stop and go to the washroom. This need goes beyond making good business sense though, as it actually should be seen as an equity issue and as well a way to build community. I will talk about each of these separately in this article.
First let’s take a look at the current state of the cities public washrooms in the city. In a great article on this topic by Lezlie Lowe in the Walrus last year, she points out that in Canada overall, we tend to rely on publicly accessible washrooms, like in the Bay Centre, rather than true publicly provided washrooms. This is true of Victoria as well. While we do have a smattering of public washrooms across the city (Beacon Hill Park, Centennial Square, and some other small park ones), the vast majority of ones that are used by people when they are out are in private locations where they allow the public to use them. The Lezlie Lowe article describes the inequity this can cause quite clearly. There was a moment in our recent city history when the public urination of men in Victoria did spur some minor action. The City installed the pissoir at Pandora and Government, the Portland Loo on Langley and began placing pee-pots around downtown. While it certainly has led to a lot less pee in doorways, it is the opposite of an equity solution. I am hard pressed to think of any other additions to the public washroom front in Victoria. We have at the same time closed off at least one, as there used to be one in the Johnson Street Parkade. The pandemic had also closed off ones like the ones at the library, though I believe they may have reopened now. With so few, especially downtown, it is no wonder that the ones that do exist become extra busy and more challenging to look after. If we had another five to ten just around downtown, it would make the city that much easier to visit, for longer periods of time, for a greater portion of the population and I think make everyone a little happier too.
Business Argument
It is true that there would be a cost to installing public washrooms and it is likely that our business owners would be stuck with the cost of some of that additional infrastructure, but as anyone that has ever had to go pee when out doing something, there is a tipping point where little else matters except where you are going to go. If we make that journey to the washroom difficult that gets burned into our minds as a no-go zone. Creating plentiful, clean and equitable washrooms means that people would feel secure in buying that coffee or tea and then continue their shopping. The known safe option for consumers is the shopping mall, usually with many washroom options all with the purpose of keeping you there spending your money for longer. We could easily make our downtown feel just as secure.
Equity Argument
I am not even sure I need to rehash the equity argument. It is the biggest reason we need to add more public washrooms and has been illustrated so well many times. Sandy James Planner’s article on Viewpoint Vancouver goes into much of this. Essentially, a lack of bathrooms or only ones that are publicly accessible but on private land are not open to everyone or certainly not everyone in the same way. I can simply look at myself as an example, I know where there are bathrooms across the city that I can try and use in a pinch, but that is a privilege that I have as I know that it is unlikely that I will be told I can’t use it. However, a homeless person cannot generally walk through a café or a hotel lobby to the washroom. In addition, the washrooms that we do have for the broader population may not be appropriate for the elderly, families with small children, transgender people, or people with mobility challenges or a disability. Creating spaces for everyone to feel comfortable doing something that we all have to do is a great way to open up our urban spaces for everyone.
Community Argument
This last one leads off the last point. One of the challenges in bringing community together in many places is the lack washrooms in key public places. Think of the work going in on Government Street. There is all of this effort to create a place where people linger and enjoy their time. However, the public washrooms are limited nearby; there is the Portland Loo on Langley, or the library ones on Broughton, the ones run by the Harbour Authority may be open at the Causeway but I am not sure and that is it for true public washrooms. The rest either along the street or nearby are accessible specifically to customers. With that limitation on a public space, it becomes difficult to convince people to make a long trip there.
The bigger issue is that Government Street is as well served as anywhere downtown, move away from here and it gets worse. With an increase in public washrooms, especially near places where we can encourage community building, we are creating people places in the public realm, ones that are accessible to anyone, especially if they can’t afford to buy a coffee just to go to the washroom but might want to sit in the park and chat with a friend.
So where would you like to see a new washroom in Victoria?