The next time you're headed to a park in Guelph, it might not be all that you're used to. That's because the city is closing washrooms and concessions at several parks.

Mario Petricevic, manager of corporate buildings with the City of Guelph, says the city closed the buildings as a precautionary measure following a structural assessment.

"There were things of concern to the city, particularly the masonry walls that needed to be repaired…instead of having them open once the parks became busy, we thought we were better off to close them down and start the repairs now."

The assessment was prompted by an incident in the summer of 2009.

Fourteen-year-old, Isabel Warren, was crushed to death when a cinder block wall in the public washroom at Larry Pearson Park collapsed without warning.

"With the experience that we've had here at the City of Guelph and in this community, we were not prepared to take any chances," says Petricevic.

For now, the city will rely on portable toilets and temporary concessions.

Some park-goers like Rebecca Fraser were caught off-guard by the closures.

"I didn't realize they were closed and I didn't know that the ones across town would be closed either."

The city says the work should take a couple of months to complete, with the last of the facilities re-opening in mid-July.