More than two dozen seasonal washrooms and fountains in Toronto’s public parks are now open for the season.
The City of Toronto, in a news release, said this spring it is accelerating the process to activate its 128 seasonal washrooms.
As of Monday morning, 32 facilities in parks are in service. They are open daily until 10 p.m. or later during special events.
All of these washrooms, along with the drinking water fountains and bottle-filling stations connected to them, are expected to be operational by May 5, the city said.
Weather permitting, any remaining standalone water fountains and bottle-filling stations in parks should be open by late May.
The city said late last week crews began opening seasonal washrooms, a process that takes about three weeks to complete and requires plumbers and technicians to activate water sources, connect toilets, urinals, and faucets, and perform maintenance.
Staff also do a deep clean of each site and fully stock each location with soap, toilet paper, and paper towels.
Further, the city maintains its seasonal washrooms and fountains throughout the season and may occasionally temporarily close them, if more significant repairs or maintenance is required.
The city says all of its 700-plus drinking fountains are tested for potability when they are brought back into service.
Every spring, the city activates more than 2,000 water facilities in its 1,500 parks and green spaces, including washrooms and water fountains, outdoor pools and wading pools, ornamental fountains, community and allotment gardens, irrigation systems, and more than 140 spray and splash pads, which are set to open in mid-May. Toronto’s 90-plus wading pools and 55 outdoor pools are expected to fully open by late June once seasonal lifeguards and attendants are in place.
The City of Toronto has faced a fair share of criticism for not opening its seasonal washrooms earlier, especially when the weather starts to warm up and scores of people start visiting some of the Toronto’s more popular green spaces. This was the case just last week when the mercury rose to 20-plus degrees in the city.
Last June, former mayor John Tory presented a motion at city council to modernize service in Toronto’s parks by directing staff to ensure seasonal facilities are accessible as soon as possible after winter. He also called for sports fields to be mowed and de-littered sooner. The motion, seconded by Scarborough-Rouge Park Coun. Jennifer McKelvie, was passed on June 15.
Earlier this year, council approved an additional $2.8 million in the budget so that seasonal washrooms and drinking fountains in Toronto’s parks open as soon as weather conditions permit in the spring and stay open later in the fall.
Aside from activating 128 seasonal washrooms, Toronto also has 182 standalone park washrooms and 54 winterized park washroom buildings that are open year round.
A map of all of Toronto’s public washrooms, drinking fountains, bottle fillers, and dog fountains can be found online.
