Businesses in downtown Guelph are having trouble with toilets – specifically, with the lack of such facilities.
“We have lots of bars and restaurants that are open until 2:00 – but as soon as 2:00 hits, everybody gets kicked out and there are no public facilities in our downtown for people who need to use them,” says Coun. Ian Findlay.
With no other options in sight, Findlay says, some revellers decide to relieve themselves on the nearest available sidewalk.
That leaves business owners with an unwelcome surprise when they show up to open their stores then next morning.
In 2010, the city experimented with open-air, semi-private urinals known as pissoirs.
Accessibility and gender equity concerns led to their removal – even though they were heavily used by those contributing most to the complaints.
“Our problem is very male-specific,” notes Findlay.
Seeking another solution, Findlay plans to introduce a motion next week to build new, freestanding washrooms in the downtown core.
He cites a city-owned parking lot on Macdonell Street – the same one that housed the pissoirs in 2010 – as a potential home for the washrooms, but says he’s open to other suggestions.
“It’ll need to be weatherproof, it’ll need to be nightlife-proof,” he says.
Findlay estimates the cost of a washroom at $50,000 to $60,000, but some of those costs could be recouped through a user-pay system.
Currently, the fine for getting caught urinating on public property in Guelph is $365.
