Gender neutral bathroom backed up a year

STAFF TO ASSESS NON-BUTT FREEZING OPTIONS

KAMLOOPS – Staff looked at creating a family washroom at Riverside Park this year, but the project has faced a series of roadblocks, including the issue of a stainless steel seat not being ideal for Kamloops in January, and now the hope is to incorporate the new washroom into overall facility improvements in 2015.

The $120,000 project was approved in the 2014 budget as a way to allow families and disabled people with caregivers to have an accessible washroom at Riverside Park. The initial plan included the purchase of a Portland Loo, a stand-alone washroom facility.

Staff are now looking at other options after a series of issues were brought up with the Portland Loo, including costs going over budget because of exchange rate and transportation charges in addition to concern over how comfortable a stainless steel seat would be in winter.

“So you’re saying the Portland Loo with the stainless steel seat would be a little chilly in January?” Mayor Peter Milobar joked with staff at a Tuesday meeting, to which planner Mike Doll replied, “I’m hypothesizing that it probably would be.”

A new accessible washroom will now be incorporated into the park management plan, which will include upgrades to the existing washroom buildings at Riverside Park. The $120,000 already budgeted for the gender-neutral washroom has been deferred to 2015 to be used towards a more permanent solution.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Jennifer Stahn at jstahn@infonews.ca or call 250-819-3723. To contact an editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.