It took years before a public, all-year washroom was finally opened at Marie Curtis Park.
One nature advocacy group say they’ve been calling for years for a public, year-round washroom at Colonel Samuel Smith Park without luck.
“We are concerned that there are no open washroom in the park,” said Terry Smith, of Friends of Samuel Smith Park (FOSS). “The park is increasingly used by more people.”
He said there is a dire need for an all-year washroom at the park and it is most obvious when they conduct annual cleanups and volunteers venture in the bushy areas with garbage bags.
The washroom at Marie Curtis Park is heated, clean and a welcomed sight for park users.
Smith said washrooms are available for park users at a nearby Ken Cox Community Centre, a Tim Hortons at Colonel Samuel Smith Park Drive and the Power House, but they are shut early and on the weekends.
It took years before Marie Curtis Park obtained a public all-year washroom and that required pressure from the community and park users.
Toronto city council approved a Washroom Enhancement Program in November 2021 to allow for more public park washrooms to stay open in the winter months.
But groups claim progress has been slow and there still aren’t enough places to go in Toronto when nature calls.
There are just more than 60 year-round public washrooms in almost 200 Toronto parks and many say it is a disgrace.
The program, implemented by the Parks, Forestry and Recreation (PFR) department involves upgrading the plumbing, insulation, heating and other electrical equipment in existing park washrooms.
When the program began, only 17 of the 187 standalone washrooms maintained by the PFR department were open year-round. There are now more than 60 public park washrooms today.
One advocacy group claims Toronto continues to lag far behind other cities in terms of access to public washrooms, especially in the winter months.
City officials said most of the washrooms are up to 80-years-old and are not designed or constructed for all-year use.
Park users said a lack of washrooms impacts the quality of life in Toronto and increase barriers for vulnerable populations.
“If we don’t have enough, people will find other places to go,” one group said. “It makes it worse for health, for safety and just human rights and human dignity.”