Washroom advocacy group says there’s not enough places to ‘go’ in T.O.

An advocacy group says Toronto continues to lag far behind other international cities in terms of access to public washrooms, especially in the winter months.

In November 2021, Toronto city council approved a Washroom Enhancement Program to allow for more public park washrooms to stay open in the winter months.

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. It’s also meant to guide investment in new year-round washrooms in future parks.

Toronto Public Space Committee (TPSC) — – a volunteer run collective that advocates for the improvement of public spaces — has been keeping track of the progress.

“It’s just something that the city has been very slow to act on,” says Jessie Ye, head of the TPSC’s public washroom subcommittee.

When the program first began, only 17 of the 187 standalone washrooms maintained by the PFR department were open year-round.

City of Toronto spokesperson Russell Baker says progress has been made since then.

“Many of the seasonal washrooms that are available in the City of Toronto were not designed or constructed for winter use … many of these buildings are as old as 70, 80 years old. There is work underway. The city’s parks, forestry and recreation division is advancing work in this area,” he says, adding that 44 additional park washrooms have now been enhanced and winterized, for a total of 61.

Baker says that along with facilities in parks, public washrooms are available in community recreation centres, civic centres, outdoor rinks and pools and a number of other public spaces, along with portable toilets in numerous locations. The number of facilities open depends on the time of year, ranging between 620 to 750.

However, Ye says for a city of more than three million residents that attracts 27.5 million tourists annually, that’s not nearly enough.

“For most people in the city, they are not within a five-to-ten-minute walking distance from a public washroom as is recommended by best practices,” she says.

In 2021, TPSC published a report titled ‘Gotta Go TO: A Public Washroom Strategy for Toronto,’ that detailed the deficit of public washrooms that Ye says became very apparent during the pandemic.

While she acknowledges the progress that’s been made, she says the Washroom Enhancement Program needs to not only be sped up, but expanded beyond the PFR department.

“It’s really important that a city like Toronto have a wider washroom strategy or a washroom plan that encompasses more departments in the city — it shouldn’t just be on the parks department. Many other departments have a stake in this — for example, economic development, public health, culture — these are all really important departments that should be involved in building a washroom strategy that encompasses all places in the neighbourhoods,” she says.

Ye says access to washrooms or lack thereof has an impact on quality of life. It affects who can move freely through a city and can increase barriers for vulnerable populations.

“Public washrooms are important for the elderly, those with chronic illnesses, families with young children as well,” she says.

“For a lot of us who might be able to go into a coffee shop and pay money just to use a washroom, it may not sound like that big of a deal. However, we shouldn’t need to pay to pee or pay to go … it’s a huge issue, especially for those who are marginalized members of our communities.”

Ye adds that a robust network of public washrooms goes a long way in making a less hostile, more livable city.

“If we don’t have enough, people will find other places to go. And that makes it worse for health, for safety and just human rights and human dignity. When you need to go, you want to find a safe and accessible place that just allows you to do what you need to do,” she says.

Click here to find available public washrooms in the city.