A $450,000 public washroom renovation at the downtown bus station was approved by Red Deer city council on Monday.
When Sorenson Station opened in 2010 a public washroom was part of the design. But it was the repeated target of vandals and had to be professionally cleaned to deal with hazardous material such as drug paraphernalia. When all of the city's public washrooms were closed in 2020 because of the pandemic, the washroom that was damaged to the point it was unusable, was never reopened.
The new washrooms are expected to be open by the end of March 2026.
“We know we need washrooms in our downtown, and with city council’s direction today, administration will proceed with the necessary work to get the washrooms at Sorensen Station back up and running,” said city Community Services General Manager Sarah Tittemore.
Extensive repairs and upgrades are required to make new washrooms functional and secure, she said.
Upgrades to plumbing, improved accessibility, enhanced security features, and the addition of an on-site attendant to ensure cleanliness and safety during operational hours are required as part of this work.
Council has long recognized the need for better washroom facilities downtown. A one-year pilot project to provide a temporary washroom was introduced in 2022 and extended for a further two years.
A report to council estimated the cost of renovating the existing washroom to provide universal and accessible stalls in a facility that can be more easily monitored at $450,000, although that is only a rough estimate. Staff also estimated annual operating costs, which were arrived at by doubling the $50,000 cost of running the temporary washroom.
Staff recommended that council hold off on the washroom project for now and leave it as an item to be considered this fall in the 2026 capital budget.
Coun. Dianne Wyntjes was among councillors who felt the city should not delay the much-needed facility.
"We talk about needs and wants and nice-to-haves," said Wyntjes. "This is more than a nice-to-have. It's a health need.
"I do believe it's time to act on this on behalf of the health of the community."
Coun. Cindy Jefferies agreed. "To me, having a bathroom at Sorenson Station is a need, regardless of what happens elsewhere downtown," she said.
While the cost of repairing the frequent vandalism has been a concern, there is a cost to cleaning up the mess left behind by those who do not have access to a washroom, she said.
Mayor Ken Johnston also supported getting the project underway.
"I don't think we can promote our downtown with any credibility or meaningfulness, if you will, if we don't have this facility."
The motion to go ahead with the washroom passed with Councillors Kraymer Barnstable, Chad Krahn and Vesna Higham opposed. Barnstable and Krahn said they both supported a public washroom but questioned whether the proposed facility was the best way to go.
Higham said while a washroom is needed "my struggle is with what is proposed."
She suggested that the city return to the drawing board and come back with a significantly less expensive design.
A motion to spend $50,000 to operate a temporary washroom this summer passed unanimously.
