Saskatoon looks at ways to improve safety, cleanliness of public washrooms

The City of Saskatoon has struck a committee to look at appropriate locations for public washrooms and supports to help people access them.

This comes after washrooms were closed during the early part of the pandemic, leaving the vulnerable population with nowhere to go. 

There have also been issues with people using washrooms as shelters and staying for extended periods of time.

Rob Garrison, the city's community support program supervisor, said it is difficult and expensive to constantly monitor the public washrooms.

"On our patrols, we stop in," Garrison said. "But sometimes there's people that can go in there for hours and hours and other people who are wanting to use the washroom can't either because it's left in a mess or there's somebody in there for an extended period of time."

One of the solutions the committee is looking into is a bathroom attendant program, modelled after a similar program in Edmonton. In that city community members with lived experience and overdose training have been hired to monitor 15 public washrooms.

"We had a lot of public bathroom facilities that were not being used," said Jodi Phelan, general manager of Boyle Street Ventures and Hiregood, which runs the Edmonton program.

"People were going in, using drugs, hanging out … a place where illicit behaviour was happening," Phelan said. "And so everyone in the community didn't feel safe going to use the washrooms."

Phelan said it took a few months for attendants to gain the trust of the the vulnerable population.

Now they are able to connect people with services like a safe consumption site.

Phelan said the community is now able to use the washrooms again and police are no longer being called to these facilities numerous times a day.

There are still some issues, like overdoses at some locations, but Phelan said staff are trained to deal with them.

They also try to have the washrooms open when shelters are closed.

The Edmonton program is paid for by the city, but Phelan said those costs are offset by a drop in vandalism, fewer police calls and having the washrooms available for the whole community.

Saskatoon has a request for proposals seeking non-profit group groups who would run a similar program.