There aren’t sufficient public washrooms in our City. If we specifically look at Bloor West Village as a case study, it could be said at least Runnymede Library and High Park have public washrooms. However, one significant gap is Bloor – Jane a major intersection with a busy TTC subway station and with no public washrooms in the vicinity.
But what about the Coffee Time? It’s closed. Hoping that another coffee shop with a washroom replaces the Coffee Time in Bloor – Jane is not a strategy. Also, constantly relying on businesses to provide accessible washrooms to the public is an abdication of municipal responsibility.
In an ideal world, the TTC would have built a public washroom in Jane Station. However, the TTC board has not exactly prioritized the construction of public washrooms, to put it mildly. So, what can the City do to solve this problem?
Public washrooms can be built on parking lots. A perfect example is the public washroom in the Woodbine Beach parking lot, which takes up approximately the space of three parking spots. The parking lot at Armadale Ave near Bloor – Jane is never full. Consequently, this could be a potential location for a new public washroom.
The pandemic has exposed not only the lack of public washrooms in T.O. it has also exposed the unwillingness of the City Council to invest in public health. Because investing in infrastructure, such as public washrooms, is an investment into the health and safety of our community. Let’s not accept excuses for inaction from the City.
Please sign and share this petition for more public washrooms in T.O. thank you.
High Park Engineer 