"If Ottawa is to be seen as a world-class city, it needs the network of beautiful, accessible, clean and secure public toilets."
Published Sep 08, 2024 • Last updated 0 minutes ago • 2 minute read
It’s among a few must-have phrases for travelling in a foreign country. It’s a reality of daily life. A feeling of familiar panic.
Where is the bathroom?
Gotta Go Ottawa is a volunteer-driven campaign that advocates for a wide network of free, accessible and secure public toilets in the nation’s capital.
Bessa Whitmore, a member of the Gotta Go team, sums up the current status of Ottawa’s toilet network: “not very good.”
Advertisement 2
THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
- Exclusive articles from Elizabeth Payne, David Pugliese, Andrew Duffy, Bruce Deachman and others. Plus, food reviews and event listings in the weekly newsletter, Ottawa, Out of Office.
- Unlimited online access to Ottawa Citizen and 15 news sites with one account.
- Ottawa Citizen ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.
- Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.
- Support local journalism.
SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
- Exclusive articles from Elizabeth Payne, David Pugliese, Andrew Duffy, Bruce Deachman and others. Plus, food reviews and event listings in the weekly newsletter, Ottawa, Out of Office.
- Unlimited online access to Ottawa Citizen and 15 news sites with one account.
- Ottawa Citizen ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.
- Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.
- Support local journalism.
REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
- Access articles from across Canada with one account.
- Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.
- Enjoy additional articles per month.
- Get email updates from your favourite authors.
Sign In or Create an Account
or
Article content
“Ottawa hasn’t done terribly well, we think,” she said in a recent interview.
There are many “hidden toilets” around town with insufficient signage, she says, and they’re mostly concentrated in the downtown core, where tourists spend most of their time.
“Suburbia is built around the automobile. People use Timmy’s, coffee shops or public buildings, or they go home,” Whitmore said. “It seems incredible that so many cities in the world have done so much better than we have.”
The ByWard Market building, in the middle of the neighbourhood, has public washrooms during work hours. After that, “the whole area becomes a public toilet,” she said.
“Everybody in the world needs to go, sooner or later. And it isn’t only homeless people, only old people, only children, only people with Crohn’s and colitis. Everybody does.”
Here’s a map of where you can find some of Ottawa’s public washrooms:
The Gotta Go campaign advocated for public toilets to be included in Phase 1 of the city’s LRT Confederation Line, Whitmore said. As it stands, only public washrooms are included in “node” stations: Bayview and Hurdman.
Advertisement 3
Article content
Cities in Tokyo and Japan are considered world leaders in public bathroom accessibility, she said, as well as New Zealand. Closer to home, Edmonton, Montreal and Vancouver have made great strides.
“If Ottawa is to be seen as a world-class city, it needs the network of beautiful, accessible, clean and secure public toilets,” she said.
Whitmore noted the city’s downtown revitalization task force penned a lengthy report in January 2024 calling for “visionary, transformative action.” That report only mentions public bathrooms once, in relation to an event, she said.
“If they want people to live downtown and go there, they need to go somewhere,” Whitmore said. “And not in the back alley, please.”
Our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark our homepage and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed.
Recommended from Editorial
-
'We can't do it alone': city council faces bleak financial future
-
Dreessen: Ottawa can become a great city without nagging other levels of government
Article content