Regina city council says 'yes' to $20K temporary toilets downtown

Downtown Regina will have a few more options for public washroom use next summer after city council unanimously approved a $20,000 pilot project at Monday's city council meeting.

Coun. Jerry Flegel proposed an amendment to have two rows of portable toilets set up in the area, composed of four regular units and two wheelchair accessible units but it was defeated unanimously.

"The biggest thing with [trailer units] is that if we create an atmosphere where [people] can hang out, they will," Flegel said.

"Whereas if someone just needs to use the washroom real quick, a portapotty will do the job."

The project would see a trailer brought in for about five months beginning in May. It would have a single stall that includes a flush toilet and a sink for hand washing. The pilot will serve as a data gathering initiative which will inform the city as it looks to build a permanent downtown structure for public washrooms.

The proposed cost of having the portable toilets downtown for three months would cost $37,000 — nearly twice the amount of the pilot project. 

Coun. Andrew Stevens said concerns about safety and drug users shooting up in the washroom is a matter of harm reduction, not the toilet.

"That would be dreadful," Stevens said of the proposal.

A permanent structure will cost about $750,000 when it's built in the future, according to city document estimates. 

Other downtown public washrooms like the facilities in the library are not meant for everyone like the pilot, Mayor Michael Fougere said.

"Having washrooms downtown at a public event I think really is a fundamental thing you'd expect to have a downtown area," Fougere said.

The toilets will be cleaned twice a day, which would cost $45 for both cleanings, but the Regina Downtown Business Improvement District will help by monitoring the washrooms.

If the washrooms need to be cleaned more than twice, RDBID will notify the city who will then notify the vendor responsible for the toilets.