The City of Victoria has approved a $14-million upgrade of its public washrooms over the next seven years to improve their accessibility.
An audit found the vast majority of the city’s 18 public-park washrooms — more than half of which were built more than 50 years ago — need extensive upgrades to address accessibility barriers.
City staff have been asked by council to develop a workplan to start bringing the facilities up to code and functional status, with council reserving the right to speed up the process.
A number of councillors bemoaned the fact it was going to take so long to address the issues.
Coun. Chris Coleman voted against asking staff to start work on the plan, saying he wanted the work done within a couple of years rather than seven.
“I think this is a priority,” he said. “I am very aware that that puts some other projects at risk because we won’t have the financial capacity to do it, but this is about including all the citizens and giving them access.”
Coun. Matt Dell agreed, saying the city “needs to be more accessible, and we have a long way to go on this.”
Mayor Marianne Alto suggested council could always speed things up if the project rises to the top of the to-do list during strategic planning sessions.
The staff report said the public bathroom facilities do not provide the level of accessibility and functionality required today, and many are nearing the end of their functional lives and require upgrades to the building structure, plumbing and electrical systems.
Coun. Jeremy Caradonna said he wasn’t convinced the work was a priority, calling $14 million an “absolutely massive” capital investment.
“We’re facing an historic budgetary challenge this year. We’re talking about raising property taxes by nine per cent and I’m concerned that we’re not investing in the right things,” he said.
