New Westminster has paused plans to put a permanent freestanding toilet on Begbie Street.
A week after a workshop, where council voted 4-2 in support of a recommendation directing staff to proceed with the installation of a permanent free-standing toilet on Begbie Street, council approved a motion to develop a citywide toilet strategy before proceeding with the pilot project in the downtown. In the days after the June 17 workshop where council supported the Begbie Street toilet, it received considerable feedback from the community on the proposal, including residents of the Interurban building, on whose doorstop the toilet would sit.
Aaron Fultz, a member of the Interurban strata council, told council Monday night that the residents are opposed to the installation of a permanent freestanding toilet near the main entrance to their building. Residents fear the toilet would exacerbate issues that have been getting worse in the past eight years – issues that have required the strata to increase its cleaning and management staff from a few days a week to full time.
“The reason for this has been the increased litter on or around our property, as well as increased vandalism,” he said. “Unfortunately, our staff must regularly, almost daily, remove large amounts of trash left behind, including injection needles. They must sometimes clean vomit and other human waste from our entrance or around other areas of our building, including that placed on doors and walls.”
Fultz said the Interurban has experienced multiple break-ins, vandalism, and fires on building’s perimeter. He said residents have been accosted while entering or exiting the building by people loitering around the property.
According to Fultz, residents are now in the process of upgrading the building’s security systems and installing security fencing around its various entrances, exits and alcoves – with the initial cost being more than $100,000.
“We are concerned that placing the toilet near our main entrance of the building will exacerbate these issues along with noise disturbances, thereby not only further increasing our costs but the inherent safety and security risks,” he said. “To the latter, owners and residents are expressing concern about the toilet obstructing the view as we enter and exit the building, causing personal safety concerns.”
Fultz said residents of the Interurban want the city to cancel the proposed placement of the toilet near the main entrance of their building in favour of developing a broader strategy that supports the need for public amenities but does not add to the challenges already being faced by residents. He said a cost-effective, easy-to-implement solution could include improving wayfinding signage to guide people to existing toilets in the downtown.
Decommissioned toilet?
Mark Barber, a downtown resident, also voiced his objection to placing a toilet at the proposed location on Begbie Street. Barber said he lives near a now-shuttered public toilet on Sixth Street, between Columbia and Front streets.
“My understanding for the reason for its shuttering was consistent vandalism, and disrepair, and also the ongoing cost of maintenance on the toilet,” he told council. “And so, with all the considerations for shuttering that toilet in the first place, I don't really anticipate it being very different than the toilet at the proposed location, which is really only two-and-a-half blocks away.”
Barber said the Sixth Street toilet had been a regular source of emergency calls when it was still open to the public. If police and fire are called to the location on Begbie Street, he fears it will create “serious logistical problems” for people trying to access to the Quay via Begbie Street.
“I do think you raise a really important point around the operations and maintenance of current washrooms,” said Coun. Tasha Henderson. “I think that that's something that came up last council meeting that we really need to think about in a holistic way across the city. So, I just want to thank you for coming tonight and thank you for that really valuable input.”
Coun. Daniel Fontaine questioned staff about the status of the public toilet on Sixth Street.
Lisa Spitale, the city’s chief administrative officer, said it is located underneath the parkade railing. She estimated it was decommissioned 10 or 15 years ago.
“The concern then and the concern still today is it's within failing infrastructure,” she said, adding that a washroom isn’t accessible.
Citywide strategy
The Begbie Street toilet was not listed on Monday’s council agenda, but Mayor Patrick Johnstone asked that it be put on the agenda to give council an opportunity to revisit the discussion around public toilets in the city. He said council had received feedback from the community following its decision at the June 17 workshop regarding the $650,000 toilet on Begbie Street.
While he is supportive of providing public toilets, Johnstone said the city needs to be sure ensuring it can provide the service for long-term needs of the community.
“And to get there we need to be sure that we have a comprehensive plan around public toilets, both to ensure that we have enough in every neighbourhood, and also planning to ensure that they are actually were maintained so that their maintenance isn't a barrier to people's use of them,” he said. “So, I think we have to have a plan in place before we can move ahead with these capital investments.”
At Monday’s meeting, council voted 4-2 in favour of motion requiring staff to develop a work plan and budget to prepare a citywide and comprehensive public toilet strategy and report back to council on that plan. In addition, the motion stated that:
- The strategy be informed by engagement with the community.
- The strategy recommend locations and options for different service levels, including 24/7 operations.
- The strategy recommend options for working with community partners to ensure access to public toilets for all members of the community.
Along with Johnstone, councillors Ruby Campbell, Tasha Henderson and Nadine Nakagawa supported the motion. Their reasons included the need for an overall public toilet strategy in New West, the call for public toilets in several city strategies (including the dementia friendly strategy), and requests from residents, including seniors, for more public toilets.
“I'm really appreciating that this conversation is coming back,” Campbell said. “As we all have heard and experienced, a lot of people have reached out to all of us, so I think it's really helpful to revisit this. … A comprehensive public toilet strategy – that's exactly what we need.”
What about the Begbie toilet?
Councillors Daniel Fontaine and Paul Minhas opposed the motion calling for staff to report back on a citywide strategy. Fontaine expressed concern the motion did not explicitly “halt” the toilet project on Begbie Street.
In a 4-2 vote, council defeated an amendment put forward by Fontaine calling on staff to halt the installation of the public toilet at the corner of Begbie and Front Street until work has been done on the comprehensive public toilet strategy.
“I don't think anybody's going to oppose public toilets. What we were trying and attempting to do is to put a public toilet in front of a residence, literally, within feet of their front door,” Fontaine said. “I have tried in the week that has passed (since the initial decision) to find policies or literature or research that shows that putting public toilets near personal residences like that is a common thing or a public practice; I’ve yet to find it.”
Rather than voting to halt the Begbie Street toilet, Nakagawa said she would prefer to see what staff recommend as part of a citywide policy.
“I think what makes the most sense for me is to allow staff to come back and tell us how the plan should unfold here. I think that committing one way or another is again putting the cart before the horse,” she said. “At this point, if we direct staff to come back with a comprehensive plan, we can talk about how we want to unroll the plan, where the services go, and where the capital investment goes.”
Fontaine’s fellow New West Progressives colleague, Coun. Paul Minhas supported his amendment to halt the Begbie Street toilet. Johnstone, Henderson, Campbell and Nakagawa were opposed.
Fontaine questioned if the citywide toilet strategy would come back to council before the city proceeds with the purchase of the toilet for Begbie Street.
Lisa Spitale, chief administrative officer, assured Fontaine that nothing would be happening with the Begbie Street toilet at this time.
“No other work takes place until we come back and provide council with our work plan to do this work,” she said of the citywide strategy.
Tobi May, the city’s senior manager of civic buildings and properties, said the intent of the June 17 workshop had been for staff to get instructions from council on how to consult with the community.
“There's no scheduled date for the purchase of the toilet,” she said at the June 24 meeting. “Really, what we were looking for from council was instructions on how to consult with the community. So that step would precede any purchase of the unit.”
Fontaine noted that staff had told council at the workshop that the Begbie Street site was the only feasible location for a public toilet.
May explained that staff had researched and reported back on a very specific project: the installation of a single-occupancy accessible standalone prefabricated freestanding toilet in the downtown core.
“We're now looking at a citywide comprehensive public toilet strategy that looks at different operating models, including 24/7, and also looks at existing infrastructure,” she said. “We've spoken about signage strategies, etc. So, the motion on the table vastly expands the parameters that staff have previously been looking at.”
To defer or not defer?
Fontaine suggested council wait till the next meeting before considering the motion, rather than “debating this on the fly.”
Council again voted 4-2 against Fontaine’s motion to defer consideration of the citywide strategy motion until the July 8 council meeting.
Henderson said the motion calls for public engagement – something residents have been calling for.
“I feel like the community has been clear, to me anyway, that we need a comprehensive way of looking at this,” she said. “That's what I think the folks from the Interurban have said.”
Minhas supported deferring consideration of the motion until July 8, saying it would give people a chance to weigh in on the matter.
Nakagawa said it is time to move forward and develop a toilet plan and make sure it works for the community.
“It has engagement in it,” she said. “It has everything that we're looking for. I think we need to go ahead with that.”
More signage?
Fontaine proposed one final amendment – one that would direct staff to immediately begin the installation of increased signage to increase awareness of all publicly funded toilets.
“We have a number of public toilets that are downtown already. We've heard from the community, we heard from the residents at the Interurban, and we've heard from members of council, that we need better signage for the ones that are there,” he said. “It does not require a strategy.”
Fontaine’s amendment initially called for more signage in the downtown core and waterfront, but he amended the amendment it to include signage throughout the city, in response to concerns from council about focusing solely on the downtown.
It passed in a 4-2 vote, with councillors Fontaine, Henderson, Minhas and Nakagawa supporting. Campbell and Johnstone voted in opposition, preferring to see what is recommended through the citywide strategy.
