VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Questions are being asked about a $ 645,000 outdoor toilet the City of Vancouver is planning for a downtown park.
It’s not about why the self-cleaning toilet is needed for Coopers’ Park, it’s about why it costs as much to install as it does while other communities have done the same for less.
BC Liberals’ job critic Todd Stone questions funding from the province’s Community Economic Recovery Infrastructure Program.
“The price of $ 645,000 for this single user toilet seems extravagant. A number of other churches have reached out to me in the past few days and told me they bought the exact same toilet for a lot less, ”he said.
“Esquimalt installed one of these toilets for $ 150,000 a year and a half ago, as a recent example.”
Stone said Esquimalt costs, including plumbing and landscaping, were cited as the main reason for Vancouver’s major costs.
The outside toilet from Portland LooThe Oregon-based company is described as being easy to clean and inexpensive to install and operate.
Kris Sims of the Canadian Taxpayer’s Federation doesn’t deny the need for the new toilet, but says the cost doesn’t make sense.
“When you’re dealing with the public and things like garbage, you definitely want something that is self-cleaning and so low-maintenance. So that it all sounds good. It is the installation part that we ask questions about. Why on earth did the balloon cost hundreds of thousands of dollars? ” She says.
“Most people could at least build some decent houses for that amount of money, so I think people are right to ask if this is really a waste of money, are we going to flush money down the toilet?” She says.
The Vancouver Park Board says this project is still ongoing and a final decision has not been made.
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