To the Editor,
Re: Money flushed on public toilet, Jan. 17.
How embarrassing your lack of thought to the editorial regarding money wasted on public toilet.
I am appalled and disappointed in the editorial view taken that a public toilet is akin to “urinated money” in a dowtown core, and will be utilized only to accommodate tipsy barflies.
Surely this lack of empathy and foresight for any person travelling through the downtown core for either touring, shopping or night time activity will ignite the wrath of the following peoples:
* Your very advertisers and shopkeepers supporting your newspaper welcoming people downtown.
* Crohn/Colitis and Inflammatory Bowel Disease sufferers.
* Celiac and allergy sufferers.
* Small children, educators and families attending free events who are not prepaying to use bathrooms in hotels, restaurants or businesses that otherwise do charge to use facilities.
* Visitors, tourists and taxpayers – including tipsy barflies – finding themselves outdoors needing to use facilities.
* Tourists who would have to run back to their ship.
* The DNBIA itself, trying to attract people to downtown, and many others not included who need to heed the call of nature.
The recent pilot project of a public facility at Bastion and Skinner streets reduced the tickets from the previous year without the public facility.
The erroneous omission reeks of ignorance and hypocrisy, especially when you report other major cities’ success with public facilities.
Shame on anyone who thinks the cost outweighs a dire need to relieve a human body function in the dowtown core.
I will personally boycott downtown until I see a public toilet.
I would happily drop a coin or two into a locked donation box right next to the toilet paper.
Heather Carr
Nanaimo