May 2, 2022
Edmontonians will notice a new style of mobile public washrooms popping up around the city around high traffic areas, including parks, business districts and areas hosting outdoor events.
"In anticipation of increased outdoor activities during the summer months of 2022, we are providing mobile washroom facilities around the city,” said Nicole Fraser, General Supervisor, Operations Planning and Monitoring. "These mobile washroom trailers offer increased and equitable access to safe and clean washroom facilities for residents and visitors to our beautiful city."
These mobile public washrooms are being installed this week and will be staffed with attendants from Boyle Street Ventures (Hire Good) who will oversee their use and maintenance to help ensure a positive user experience. The washrooms will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. until October 31, 2022. During special events, such as the hockey playoffs, the mobile washrooms located downtown will be open extended hours.
The mobile washroom
locations were chosen in consultation with a diverse group of stakeholders, including Business Improvement Areas, the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues, Boyle Street Ventures, and other partners. In addition, water bottle filling stations will be placed close to the mobile public washrooms where possible. These mobile washroom locations may inform locations for the permanent/semi-permanent public washrooms the City is working to deliver by 2023 as part of the citywide Public Washroom Strategy.
In addition to these mobile washrooms opening, Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) will reopen select public washrooms within transit centres and LRT stations. The temporary transit washroom closures were part of the three-year Transit Safety Plan approved by Council in February.
"ETS has been working on improving washroom safety to allow for safer use by the public and for staff who monitor and maintain these washrooms. By taking a phased approach to reopening the washrooms, it provides us an opportunity to test new measures, monitor and refine as we go,” said Trevor Dennehy, Director of LRT Operations and Maintenance. “We want to open them in a way that is right and safe for everyone involved.”
Effective May 2, ETS will reopen 10 of the 18 transit washrooms in this phase to help ensure safe, clean access to transit washrooms. The locations are Northgate, South Campus, Kingsway, Castle Downs, Meadows, Lewis Farms, Heritage Valley, Clareview, Southgate and Central.
To support this phased reopening, a number of actions are underway, ranging from increased personnel to provide more security oversight, wellness checks and increased cleaning, to providing safety information on overdose prevention strategies and treatment services. A washroom attendant will also provide additional support at the Central LRT station once training is complete. Observations, data and key learnings will help to inform the timing and approach for opening the remainder of the washrooms.
Over the medium to long term, ETS is exploring more options that can be implemented, such as motion detection technology and design adjustments to the washrooms to further enhance safety. The City remains committed to providing safe, clean washroom access for all Edmontonians.
