Build It They Will Come

Seventeen Public Washrooms is what the Kelowna City fathers are saying are needed downtown. They don't want folks to have more than a '3 minute' walk between them. They want "Port-A-Cans" on Lawrence and Leon Avenues to try and stop the problem of public urination and defecation.

Normal people don't need a bathroom break every 3 minutes. Many area residents can actually go downtown for an hour or more and conclude their
business and go home without a potty break. Just in case, normal people
using the downtown area are generally there doing business or visiting and
their destination usually will have bathroom facilities.

"BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME" - lets make this clear, the time and energy
spent on these facilities other than those in a City Park are, if not
intended for, will be almost exclusively used by, the homeless and
transients, not for residents and tourists. If Kelowna persists in this
kinder, gentler approach to the homeless (by the way, I'd bet that less than
5% of these people are actually from the Kelowna area) the "word" will get
around and their numbers and the resulting problems will simply increase. Do
you want to "keep them coming?"

Like every other Government provided restroom, the facility will be vandalized and damaged until the resulting financial burden makes it no
longer practical to fund these and they are shut down. Who is going to clean
these facilities? how often? and who will be replacing the paper, constantly stolen for 'shopping cart supplies'?

Such was the case in Vancouver where they simply became places for the
transients/criminals to sell and shoot their drugs and sex trade workers to
ply their trade. How will the regular folks even get access to these toilets when they find the doors LOCKED from the inside with either a
transient sleeping or an addict passed out with a needle in his/her arm
inside. If you do happen to get in the door, "Hey, want to buy some speed?"
and watch out for 'Maisie' down on her knees..."Johnny, don't look !!"

Once again, Good Luck to the City of Kelowna, trying to be 'everything for
everyone' and having taxpayers fund it.

A.S.