City of Toronto looks at boosting the number of park washrooms open in winter to address pandemic concerns

Thestar.com
Nov. 20, 2020
David Rider

Toronto will more than double the usual number of park washrooms open through the winter if City council approves a pandemic-related plan from city staff.

The plan is meant to address concerns that people, especially those with medical needs, face a shortage of public washrooms, thanks to a ban on indoor dining and other closures.

Also, parks are expected to see more winter use, because public health officials are urging people to work on their health outside, where COVID-19 does not spread as easily as indoors.

That shortage was about to get a lot more acute, because most of the city’s 187 park washrooms close by Thanksgiving weekend. They are not winterized, with plumbing and electrical systems vulnerable to damage if used during the coldest months.

The City staff plan released Friday proposes retrofitting 28 of those washrooms and installing 51 portable toilets in “high-use locations where winter activities will occur.”

In total, the plan would boost Toronto’s number of winter park washrooms from 64 to 143.

Washrooms will be also be available at 47 outdoor rinks once the season begins in late November, depending on the weather.

City staff say the 2020 cost can be absorbed into this year’s budget.

Winter public washrooms are also available in community recreation centres, libraries and city-owned buildings. City staff are working on an online list and map of all public washrooms.

One remaining question is how the pandemic will affect the city recreation programs that make the washrooms extra important. Modified and downsized recreation programs have been offered since an initial shutdown last March.

City staff say winter recreation programs will be unveiled in “the coming days.”

In a statement, Mayor John Tory hailed the city staff plan as a “great benefit” to residents.

“We know the increase in park use during the COVID pandemic will continue and it is essential that the city provide services that support these changes in behaviour,” Tory said.

The plan goes to City council’s Nov. 25, 26 meeting