Ottawa’s Centretown neighbourhood is getting two new public, self-cleaning washrooms next year.
Somerset Coun. Ariel Troster says the 2025 draft budget includes $1 million for two new public washrooms in the downtown ward.
“It’s a win for the community,” Troster said on Facebook about the funding for stand alone washrooms.
“I cannot tell you how excited I am for this. This is as a result of years of advocacy by groups, including the GottaGo campaign and now we are going to be able to build two modular, self-cleaning public bathrooms in Centretown.”
“Once this budget is passed, we will be reaching out to the community to ask you where you think they should go.”
The GottaGo! Campaign has a list of 22 public toilets available in downtown Ottawa, including at Ottawa City Hall, ByWard Market, the Ottawa Public Library and the National Arts Centre.
“Using the washroom is a fundamental human need,” Troster said. “It’s completely inhumane that we do not have publicly accessible bathroom facilities, but we will in 2025.”
The GottaGo! Campaign has been calling on the city to create a network of clean and accessible public toilets in Ottawa, pushing the city to take urgent action.
On Tuesday, the GottaGo! Campaign will mark World Toilet Day by presenting postcards to councillors, “to highlight the critical importance of safe, clean and accessible public toilets as essential public health infrastructure.”
The rally will be held at Ottawa City Hall at 3 p.m.
In 2020, a list of potential infrastructure projects presented by City Staff suggested the cost of building stand-alone, self-cleaning public washrooms in the ByWard Market and on Sparks Street would cost $430,000 each.
In 2021, federal, provincial and municipal officials announced more than $1.6 million in funding for ByWard Market infrastructure, including a new self-cleaning public washroom.