Findings of public washroom survey being presented to Prince George city council

“The City also currently incurs significant ongoing costs related to managing public biohazards in the downtown, including cleanup of human waste and associated impacts, which provides additional context for considering potential approaches to improved washroom access.”

Survey Says

The online survey ran Feb. 9 to March 2, while paper copies were also made available at the City Hall Service Centre. It sought input on the perceived need, preferred locations, potential delivery models, design considerations, and whether the city should prioritize funding to install and operate washrooms.

There were 1,512 responses in total, and a slim majority (51.59 per cent) of respondents indicated that more publicly accessible washrooms are needed downtown, while 42.99 per cent felt the additional facilities are not necessary.

The most frequently identified preferred locations were along or adjacent to the 3rd Avenue corridor, with clusters near Quebec Street (Farmers’ Market), George Street, and several City-owned properties including the 2nd Avenue parking lot, Canada Games Plaza and civic core, Wood Innovation Square, and City Hall.

As for preferred approaches, the responses were evenly distributed, the City said, though it noted that integrating a public washroom into an existing year-round civic facility received the most support (24.4 per cent), followed closely by a staffed washroom at Canada Games Plaza (22.6 per cent).

Respondents also strongly favoured prioritizing cleanliness and maintenance (80.09 per cent) as well as safety (75.66 per cent). Other common choices for the design and operation included staffing and monitoring (44.31 per cent), year-round access (40.15 per cent), and costs (37.96 per cent).

“These results suggest that respondents’ views are shaped not just whether a washroom exists, but by how well it is run,” the report said.

“A review of the open-ended responses shows that many respondents used the comment box to reiterate their opposition to installing a public washroom downtown. Among those who provided suggestions, feedback focused less on proposing entirely new delivery models and more on identifying conditions that would support successful implementation.”

When asked if the City should prioritize construction and ongoing funding for a downtown public washroom, 32.41 per cent of respondents said yes, while 42.39 per cent said no. The other 21.76 per cent indicated that it would depend on the cost.

Staff though said the results around costing should be considered alongside the broader context of the survey.

“While a majority indicated comfort with installation costs of up to $250,000, respondents also expressed strong preferences for staffing, monitoring, year-round access, and other features that would likely increase costs,” the report said.

“This suggests that cost preferences alone may not fully reflect what the community expects from a functional facility.”

Staff also caution that the survey was not mandatory, and that the results reflect the perspectives of people who chose to respond. They say the findings may not fully represent the views of all user groups, especially people who rely most heavily on public washroom access.

At this time, staff are recommending that council accept the results of the survey as information.

A summary of the report being presented on Monday can also be found here.

by Victor Kaisar

Findings of public washroom survey being presented to Prince George city council

Survey Says

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