Vandal-proof washrooms pitched for Princess Park

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This article was published 19/12/2023 (1009 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Residents believe that drug deals and prostitution take place in the public washrooms at Princess Park, though there are no specific statistics collected by police, Brandon City Council heard on Monday.

As part of the work done by the downtown safety and wellness task force, a recommendation was made to keep those washrooms open and accessible for people experiencing homelessness in downtown Brandon.

After asking for a progress report on that front since the washrooms have been closed recently, Brandon’s director of parks and recreation services provided an update on their operations and on consultations he has done with stakeholders.

The washrooms were built in 2019 because of complaints from area stakeholders over public urination at the park and the Christopher Campbell Memorial Skate Plaza across the street.

Roque said the washrooms have been closed more than they’ve been open due to vandalism, he said. He said he has heard from people who use the washrooms that those who are vandalizing them are ruining them for those in need of them.

They’ve currently been closed since the end of October because of damage that require an entire door to be replaced. Getting those facilities repaired was difficult because some people were using them as shelter from the cold, which require the use of police to remove them.

One of the biggest problems is people flushing needles down the toilets, which requires calling in a plumber to deal with them. Both washrooms have sharps containers for needles that are frequently filled.

In some cases, Roque said he has visited the washrooms to find them in perfect condition, only to find the toilets clogged just two hours later.

Unless staff are notified, the toilets keep getting used while still being clogged.

This summer, Roque said he was in the park when he saw two men and a woman heading into the washroom at the same time. Upon telling them they didn’t need to go in at the same time, Roque said he was told that he had ruined their threesome.

Recently, Roque said he polled nearby businesses to see how accessible their washrooms are to the public. Of 23 places, 18 were open to the public. When the Princess Park washrooms close around 6 p.m., there are no public washrooms until they reopen at 9 a.m.

While the Seventh Street Health Access Centre has washrooms and access to showers, Roque said people who need them have to line up early in the morning in order to access them.

Because of issues with vandalism, graffiti and unruly people, Roque said the city currently schedules two staff members to work together downtown at all times due to safety concerns and provides employees with sensitivity training.

To operate the washrooms, Roque said it cost approximately $184,400 in 2022 and 2023. That includes $118,400 in overall downtown security costs, $30,000 for Princess Park-specific security, $10,000 in maintenance costs and $26,000 in cleaning costs. If the city wants 24-7 security at the park next year, Roque said it would cost in the neighbourhood of $174,720.

He also presented several options for improvements at the washrooms.

The first option — which would include a redesign of the facilities, replacing more fragile porcelain fixtures with stainless steel ones, installing security cameras and adding another water line to the washroom — would cost around $190,000.

A second option would be to replace the washrooms with vandal-proof ones. Roque said when the Princess Park washrooms were first installed, some considerations was given to the idea but it was thought to be too expensive at the time.

Two porta-potties that were installed at Princess Park, Roque said, were damaged to the extent that they could not be repaired. He said they had to be wrapped in cellophane and transported to the landfill.

The addition of two vandal-proof washrooms — one for Princess Park and another on Pacific Avenue — as well as installation fees would cost around $600,000. That includes the price of hooking up water to the Pacific Avenue washroom.

As an example, Roque showed council a video from a company called Urben Blu, which has built prefabricated “smart bathrooms” in places like Kenora and Fort Francis, Ont.

The video showed the washroom cleaning and disinfecting itself after being used. They had automatic lighting that came on when the facilities were used and can be programmed so that the doors only unlock at certain times of day.

Roque ultimately presented three recommendations to council: that the city purchase vandal-proof washrooms, provide 24-7 supervisions and security for the facilities and for them to operate from 8 a.m. to dusk every day.

“I think if people were aware we were monitoring the facilities, we wouldn’t have so many problems,” Roque said.

Potential partnerships for monitoring the washrooms, Roque said, could be made with the BNRC Blue Door, Brandon Bear Clan and the city’s own community housing and wellness co-ordinator.

One of the benefits of the vandal-proof washrooms, general manager of operations Patrick Pulak said, is that they are portable and could be moved like a mobile home if needed.

He added that the current washrooms at Princess Park are located on a slab and could also be moved somewhere else if a vandal-proof facility is brought in.

Coun. Bruce Luebke (Ward 6) said he wondered if it might make more sense to bring in a single vandal-proof washroom as a pilot project before bringing in a second.

Though the washrooms are advertised as being vandal-proof, Coun. Jason Splett (Ward 8) said he worried that people would just work harder to vandalize them. Roque told him that if they are vandalized once the city takes possession of them, the repair costs would be passed onto Brandon.

However, he said one advantage is that city staff would receive notifications if someone tries to break in.

Coun. Kris Desjarlais (Ward 2) expressed disappointment that the city had pinched its pennies four years ago when it could have installed the vandal-proof facilities back then and not incurred extra expense in buying and then disposing of facilities that didn’t fit the city’s needs.

Following up, Coun. Barry Cullen (Ward 3) echoed his thoughts and said the only positive is that there are now sewer and water hookups in the park. Cullen wondered if the current washrooms could be retrofitted with smart functionality for a lower cost and asked Roque to investigate that possibility.

Mayor Jeff Fawcett said he wasn’t sure if this was a washroom problem and that maybe it would be better to work with the province to establish overnight shelter and shower facilities.

Coun. Tyson Tame (Ward 10) asked if the city’s police cadet program could be expanded to provide security for the washrooms.

Compared to four years ago, city manager Ron Bowles said, the situation has changed. He said Brandon isn’t the only community that has installed a washroom that hasn’t worked out as anticipated.

The mayor said the matter would be further discussed during budget deliberations next month.

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