The Prince George Public Library has announced it is locking public washrooms at the Bob Harkins Branch downtown.
The washrooms will be available by request and doors will be unlocked by members of the security teams and the library has stated anyone who asks to use the washroom will be permitted.
The decision to lock the washrooms has prompted a tremendous amount of feedback online either from patrons thanking the library citing safety issues or those concerned about how this decision could negatively affect marginalized peoples.
The library has received hundreds of emails not only from patrons within the city but from throughout the province and country.
“The reason that we decided to lock the washrooms temporarily is for the health and safety of our staff, and not because we disapprove of substance use,” said Amy Dhanjal, the library’s manager of communications and engagement.
“We've always had people using substances in our bathrooms. It's not a new issue. We installed sharps containers back in the bathrooms and 2018 in response to a recognized need to have those there but what we're noticing more and more, over the past six months, is an increased frequency of incidents where we're noticing that people are smoking in the bathrooms.”
She says staff were also finding items like discarded pipes further indicating people were smoking in the bathrooms.
“What we're doing right now is every time there's evidence of smoking, we have to close down the washroom for an hour to let the air cycle through and that prevents everyone from accessing that washroom.”
With these new measures, security staff will unlock the washrooms by request and after each use inspect and then relock the washrooms.
The goal is to disrupt the pattern of behaviour that poses a health and safety risk for the staff.
However, Dhanjal also recognized the concerns the public has brought forward because of this decision.
“One of them is the barrier that having security guards at the washroom poses because it can be a deterrent for people from even asking to use the washroom for a number of reasons,” said Dhanjal.
She added that the library will not be screening people and the intention is not to assess people to determine whether they should be allowed access — The direction to security is to grant access to everyone.
“If you're somebody that has Crohn's or Colitis or some other situation where you need to use the bathroom immediately just having to ask is a delay that's not acceptable to many. Even if you're a parent of a young child you know those few seconds can make the difference between an accident or not having an accident,” said Dhanjal.
She said the decision to lock the bathrooms is temporary and in three months the library’s leadership team along with the staff health and safety committee will reassess the situation.
“This is kind of a temporary move to disrupt some of those behaviours while well we figure out how to address smoke in our washrooms,” said Dhanjal.
“This is not new. Businesses and other organizations around the community have been trying to address the washroom needs of the community for a long time. It's always been a challenge. It's just, you know, we're seeing things become even more challenging with this pandemic and with the drug poisoning crisis. It's just layer upon layer of complication.”
Downtown public washroom availability has been an issue in Prince George for years.
It came back on city council’s radar in 2019 and those discussions resulted in two pilot projects providing public washrooms and storage facilities for unhoused people on George Street and Quebec Streets.
However, these washrooms are only accessible during staffing hours.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the city also provided public washrooms in Canada Games Plaza next to the Bob Harkins Branch, to support at-risk individuals.
These washrooms were managed by the POUNDS Society were open from 7 to 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. to midnight. However, funding was only available from April to November 2020.
“I think it's important for the public to know that the library does support harm reduction and we're supportive of the work of organizations like the POUNDS Project,” added Dhanjal.
“We do have resources here, so that if people need to access those services they know where to find them and we'll continue to promote other locations where they're better equipped to deal with substance use.”
The library has also created an online form where people are encouraged to submit feedback.
