The following article appeared in the July 9 edition of the Guelph Mercury:
A downtown task force has approved a modified plan to install “pissoirs” in the core.
But unlike the earlier proposal, this one would see units installed “on a more permanent basis,” said Coun. Ian Findlay, who represents city council on the task force, “to capture the 24-hour, seven-days-a-week crowd.
“We still have issues with a lack of facilities in the downtown,” Findlay said.
The Downtown Night Life Task Force met yesterday morning to discuss the issue, after council last month approved the concept of pissoirs, but only if bar and restaurant owners picked up the tab for a pilot project.
City staff had earlier proposed the municipality would cover the estimated $5,000 cost of a pilot, but councillors scuttled that idea and sent the issue back to the task force for further work.
After yesterday’s closed-door meeting, Jennifer Mackie, general manager of the Downtown Guelph Business Association, said the stakeholders in the task force agreed to contribute financially.
She said the new proposal will be presented to the city’s emergency services, community services and operations committee July 20.
“We’re looking to have it all in place by the end of August,” Mackie said, noting that the downtown core typically gets busier once the school year starts in September.
Findlay confirmed the new proposal will again include a request for some city funding.
a quick glance
A new proposal might see the public urinals installed 24/7 instead of just for the weekend crowd.
He noted Guelph Police have issued about 300 tickets in the past two years under the city’s anti-fouling bylaw. At $240 each, this has theoretically generated more than $70,000 for the city.
“We do know that the city is collecting a fair amount of money from the anti-fouling bylaw, so we believe that money should go back into providing a safe and healthy alternative,” Findlay said, suggesting tickets issued against those who do not use the pissoirs could be used to pay for the facilities.
While the original proposal would have seen the pissoirs installed near the intersection of Wyndham and Macdonell streets from late Thursday through Saturday night and removed the next morning, Findlay said the latest proposal to come forward would see more-permanent units installed in a less obvious location with privacy screening “to provide a bit of discretion.”