The Ottawa Raging Grannies came out in numbers to a meeting of the City Environment Committee where the budget was being discussed. Our purpose was to sing in favour of public toilets in the new LRT stations. We are concerned with the cost of retrofitting the LRT stations with toilets, since it is much cheaper to do it right the first time.
Our main purpose was to address the environmental cost of a lack of public toilets. As Granny Ria Heynen, stated: “I frequently use the bus transit station at Lincoln Fields. The smell in both the elevators is overwhelming. With no public toilet, these locations are toilet substitutes. How unpleasant and unsanitary!”
We came out in support of the local Gotta Go! Campaign (ottawapublictoilets.ca) that is lobbying for a network of public toilets throughout the nation’s capital. For aging Grannies, as well as those suffering from colitis and celiac disease, having frequent access to toilets is critical – not to mention pregnant women, small children, patrons of downtown pubs or fans attending a game. As Cathleen Kneen notes, “We are trying to persuade the public to use transit, but without toilets in the stations, many of these people will not use the transit system for fear of being caught short.”
Granny Linda Green adds, “The LRT end stations are not the only ones that need toilets. I might be in transit for up to an hour before I arrive at a LRT station such as Hurdman by bus. Then what do I do?” Failing to plan and budget for toilets in the LRT would be a serious, and costly, error.
We said all that and we said it in song! Check out the video. Check out the words.