There’s no party planned. Though it’s a milestone we couldn’t let pass without a mention. Today, The City of Calgary's Tomkin's Park automated public toilet turns two! Installed on February 8, 2008 in Tomkins Park, the toilet aims to be a safe and clean place for people to heed the call of nature. And they do. Since it was installed, it’s been flushed about 85,000 times.
It’s also being touted as a tourist attraction. In the recently published "Alberta Book of Musts: The 101 Places Every Albertan MUST See" Author Diana O’Meara ranks the loo number 55 on her list of places that “you simply MUST visit” in Alberta.
According to Lorna Wallace, Project Manager with the Centre City team, The City is looking for opportunities to install more, but there are no plans in place at this point.
Do you think Calgary’s Centre City could use more automated public toilets?
February 8, 2008 - Installation Day
Thanks for inviting feedback regarding automated public toilets. I could see a use for an APT in the following locations (Olympic Plaza (first) and Eau Claire Market (second)). This would offer a fairly large catchment area, in particular these area are not well served in the evenings when many of the quasi public\private restrooms become unavailable. I don't think the portable pilot scheme worked very well, because they attracted drug paraphenelia and other crime issues along the riverbank. I think the riverwalk and banks of the river are one of the higher traffic areas for pedestrians at night, so I think it should be a priority to discourage crime along that natural corridor. I would also recommend to provide a map (wayfinding) on these three public washrooms downtown, so patrons can identify alternate locations. CPTED principles (adequate night lighting, on foot path, or within sightline of LRT station) can be used to reduce crime. Thanks again for inviting feedback.
Posted by: Radley77 | Wednesday, February 10, 2010 at 12:28 PM