Have to go? If you're in downtown London, there's a reason finding a flush is hard

When Enock Barimah's one-year-old daughter needs to use the washroom in downtown London, Ont., it can flush away the family's plans for the rest of the day. 

A first-time father, Barimah said he tries to encourage his daughter to do her business before they head to the downtown core, but accidents happen and sometimes she just has to go.

Barimah knows of one family-friendly bathroom in the city's downtown core and relies on it frequently. But when it's closed, a family outing can come to an abrupt end. 

"Going out knowing that we don't have access to a family bathroom, we have to kind of work around that," Barimah said. "If we're out and we know it's time or she's already had an accident, we have to all go back home, change her, and then ideally come back out again."

"Which does present a lot of hassles because once she's home, sometimes she doesn't want to leave."

The struggle to find public toilets in downtown London is not limited to parents with children. A lack of no-questions-asked bathrooms also affects runners and cyclists using the Thames Valley Parkway, students on Richmond Row at night, people without permanent housing and those with medical challenges. 

"As I've gotten older and I've had to be more independent, it really does cross my mind more often: what if I can't find a washroom in time?" said 19-year-old Leana Al-Ugaily, a committee member at Crohn's & Colitis Canada who was diagnosed with Crohn's disease when she was 10.

"It can be kind of anxiety-provoking."

What's available

There are five public bathrooms in and around London's downtown core. Three of them are monitored by security and can only be used for 10 minutes. None of them are open 24 hours. 

The city says that's not changing any time soon. 

"To go 24 hours, we would need to essentially double our staff," said Ryan Craven, manager of core area programs with the city. "[We would need] to dramatically increase the amount we spend on security guards and cleaning staff."

The City of London could not provide current costs for operating their four downtown washrooms since they are part of overall operating budgets for each location. 

With the hours at public facilities not changing, Al-Ugaily is calling on downtown businesses to open their washroom doors to a larger population of people. 

"I think we really have the opportunity to make London a model city for accessibility," she said. 

Safety for customers, bathroom users

That may sound like a reasonable call, but the decision to open washrooms to the public is not an easy one, said Shane Kenneth, co-owner of Coffee Culture.

The Dundas Street coffee shop has two single-use washrooms meant for customers only, and require a key to access. 

"We have to be very careful who we give the key to," said Kenneth, who emphasized the safety of his staff and other customers. 

Since taking over in 2013, Kenneth said people have showered in Coffee Culture's sink, smeared feces across the bathroom wall and flushed needles down the toilet, which creates costly plumbing repairs. There have been overdoses and one person died by suicide in the stall.  

Kenneth says he's also faced consequences when he has not allowed people to use the bathroom, including when a man tried to defecate on the floor after he was denied the use of the facilities.

"I feel helpless at times," said Kenneth. 

Across the street, bathrooms at the London Public Library's central branch are open to the public during opening hours, except when they're locked for special events, cleaning or a security sweep ahead of the library's closure.

Signs posted outside the washrooms say there is a 10 minute time limit and that they are frequently checked by security guards. Security is now a common site outside public facilities in the downtown core, due to increased drug use.

"They are often checking on the well-being of people using the washrooms to ensure that everybody is staying safe and healthy," said Nancy Collister, director of customer service and branch operations at the library. "I'm not going to sugarcoat it, there is an issue with drug use in the downtown core." 

But Collister added that the library's bathrooms are frequented year-round by all members of the London community.

"They're very busy and that's because there's not much open in the downtown core that allows all members of the public to use their washrooms."

City hours limited

The City of London has tried to respond to the need "to go". In 2021, it used COVID-19 recovery money to open public bathrooms near Dundas and Richmond streets at a base cost of $100,000, plus at the time, a yearly operating cost of $150,000.

It has since extended hours to the Dundas Place facilities which are now open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursday through Saturday and close at 6 p.m. the rest of the week. Bathrooms at Victoria Park are open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. 

Both are staffed by security, with policies that only allow one person or group in at a time for a maximum of 10 minutes. 

"We used to have a lot more issues when we did allow more time [but] we've tightened up the time," said Ryan Craven, manager of core area programs with the city. "The issues that we have been facing essentially stopped."

He said the city's public washrooms have had issues with drug use, which is a particular challenge when young families also use the facilities.

Ivey Park and Thames Park near downtown have public washrooms that people can walk into freely. Their hours fluctuate based on when staff unlock them, for up to 12 hours a day. 

Outside of the bathroom's hours, all four are completely closed to the public with no staff on site to make an exception.

A different approach

Some London business owners are taking a different approach, putting accessibility first, and asking no questions to people needing the facilities. 

"I think bathrooms are just one piece of a lot of things that are missing downtown in terms of public services," said Mark Dencev,  general manager of the Richmond Tavern.

"There's a housing crisis going on [and] people have no place else to go," Dencev said. 

Dencev said people are mostly respectful of the Richmond Tavern's washrooms, which people can use regardless of making a purchase during the bar's 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. hours. 

While Dencev has had instances where he has called foot patrol on people using drugs in the bathroom, he thinks the Richmond Tavern has not faced many issues because of the bar's visibility in the city, the staff's reputation for dealing with downtown clientele and the bathroom's location next to the bartender.

He also said attitude goes a long way.

"Everybody is a person and if you're kind and you're patient, you usually get kindness in return," Dencev said. 

The Richmond Tavern isn't the only "no questions asked" bathroom in downtown London. 

GoHere is an app created by Crohn's and Colitis Canada that allows users to locate free-to-use washrooms across the country.

Businesses must register themselves to appear on the app. Paul Kilbertus, senior manager of communications and public relations at Crohn's and Colitis Canada, said this is because they want to ensure the app shares accurate hours for businesses that will never question someone's bathroom usage.

Currently, five washrooms in London's downtown core are listed on GoHere, but app user Al-Ugaily says this is not enough.

"You need to get everyone in the community on board," said Al-Ugaily, who goes to university in Toronto where she said the app is more active.

"It can really help create a more inclusive environment where everyone can kind of navigate the city comfortably and confidently," she said.