City pilot project looking at public washroom downtown

This week, a city committee will consider a report that recommends setting up a public washroom in downtown Regina.

The facility would be a one-season pilot project that would be installed in City Square Plaza from May until September next year.

“We understand and know with more animation downtown, (and) other things happening in the plaza, we need to provide those services,” Mayor Michael Fougere said on the Greg Morgan Morning Show on Tuesday.

According to the report, which will be presented to the Community and Protective Services Committee on Thursday, the pilot would be used to assess the case for building a permanent facility.

As the pilot is in progress, staff would track usage, watch for “undesirable behaviour” like vandalism or illegal behaviour, and assess the frequency and costs of maintenance.

The cost of the project would be $20,000.

There are more than 50 public washrooms in Regina, with two of them located downtown — at City Hall and at the Regina Public Library.

City administration surveyed 18 municipalities on how they operate public washrooms and what issues they encounter with the practice.

Among the findings, 10 had multiple public facilities in their downtown areas, with most housed in public buildings like municipal buildings, galleries or museums.

Nine had to deal with illegal activity like vandalism, squatting or drug use. Four had to increase security patrols and maintenance.

Five respondents provided the capital costs of their facilities. They ranged from $150,000 to $750,000.

Consultations on building permit process

During his appearance, Fougere also said the city is consulting stakeholders this month as it reviews the process for approving building permits.

“When we finish this at the end of the year and have a report coming to council early in the new year, we’ll have — hopefully — on a complete application, the fastest process in Western Canada for residential, commercial and industrial,” Fougere said.

Earlier this year, Fougere said the average wait time for a permit is between eight and 10 weeks, with the wait time lasting as long as 12 weeks in some cases.

“We have to do better. We must get better and we’ve heard the concerns of people who want to build a deck or garage to people who want to build homes and those who are doing commercial development,” he said.

“We have a problem. (We’ve) got to fix it.”