Here’s what
some readers have to say about public restrooms in the subway: “The
limited number of washroom facilities that the TTC has for its
patrons are in horrible shape ... wet floors, lack of stalls,
latches that don't close properly, lack of tissue paper, etc.”
“A number of
them -- Don Mills, Sheppard, Eglinton and Bloor in particular -- are
now so dirty and neglected that it would take a real emergency to
make anyone use them.”
“These
bathrooms are vital for many of us -- older people, children,
travelers to and from the airport.”
This one
concerns the facilities in the city’s historic Union rail station:
“The women's bathrooms at Union Station are disgusting. Not only is
there not enough of them, they are old, falling apart, dirty and
poorly maintained.”
Let’s start
with the TTC. Commission chair Howard Moscoe admits, “I’m not proud
of TTC washrooms and the way they’re kept, but they certainly are a
little bit better than they were last year.”
How high on the
priority list are public restrooms? TTC general superintendent Don
Leger says each one is cleaned three times a day, just before both
rush periods and around noon. TTC crews power-wash the lavatories
about once a week and will soon “start doing this on an almost
nightly basis,” he says.
“As far as our
attitudes toward them, I think we can improve what we're doing,” he
states. “It is a challenge.”
Some people use
the facilities as personal bathrooms, clogging sinks and spilling
water on the floor. Others get angry when items like hand driers
don’t work. Leger says, “We have issues of vandalism ... and things
go downhill pretty fast.”
In addition to
getting various repair teams to coordinate efforts better, he says
the TTC will gradually rebuild washrooms, starting with Eglinton
station next year.
Pio Mammone, a
manager with the agency that oversees Union Station, says that of
the three sets of washrooms in the building, the ones in the GO
concourse are the most heavily used -- including by people heading
to a sports game or concert.
”We do get a
lot of damage to these washrooms,” he says, adding that cleaners
must now confirm hourly checks on the facilities. Renovations will
have to wait until the City of Toronto decides how to upgrade the
railway terminal.
While chair
Moscoe believes some TTC bureaucrats would rather see subway
restrooms closed entirely, “I think there ought to be more.” He says
the city may soon introduce self-cleaning toilet booths, as used in
other urban areas.
“If they come
to the streets of Toronto as public washrooms, there will be a very
strong push to get them at the TTC.”