The elephant on the hill
And public washrooms are back on the agenda
The Caledonia Nordic Ski Club, which manages the Otway cross-country ski trails, wants to address the elephant on the track in a new social post, writing:
Mother Nature doesn’t always play by the rules. Last year was... well, unpredictable (to say the least). But this season, we're kicking things off with high hopes and a whole lot of optimism! With all the buzz about La Niña, we're crossing our fingers and toes for a fantastic winter ahead!
Our grooming crew is ready to work their magic once again, and with our top-notch grooming equipment, including our snow guns, our team will be working hard to provide the best possible conditions (as usual).
But here’s the thing—we need YOU to keep the trails rolling! By becoming a CNSC member, you’re not just gaining access to our incredible winter trails, you’re also supporting our dedicated CNSC team of staff and volunteers who work year-round to keep our trails thriving! From mountain biking, hiking, and paved trails to disc golf in the summer, and skate, classic, and snowshoe trails in the winter, your membership plays an important part in making the magic happen all year round! Our Early Bird Membership rate ends on November 16th!
Unreliable winter weather is a growing problem for so many groups — ski hills, outdoor ovals, etc. It’s smart for Caledonia to highlight their year-round work, too, and I almost wonder if it might be time to start thinking about charging for access by bike or other things and attaching memberships to that? In Revelstoke this summer, I visited where they’ve set up a gondola ride and rollercoaster to supplement the ski season. Seems to be the way for winter facilities to survive climate change (as long as any of us are able to).
Public washrooms are back on the agenda
Councillors Tim Bennett and Trudy Klassen have teamed up to get city hall to talk about expanding public washroom access, particularly downtown:
In their notice, the councillors point out the growing need for accessible downtown washrooms, especially for tourists, the homeless, the elderly, families with young children and individuals with medical conditions requiring frequent restroom use.
Currently, the city limits access to public washrooms during colder months when park facilities are closed, further restricting availability. Although transitional housing projects are set to bring additional washrooms to some residents, there is still a significant gap in facilities available for the public, the motion states.
The motion suggests expanding public washroom availability at selected downtown locations such as St. Vincent de Paul, Positive Living North (Firepit) and AWAC.
The proposal would include a small grant to support the hiring of people to monitor the facilities during peak hours. The agencies would continue to cover the costs of operation and maintenance while ensuring washrooms are accessible to the public when needed.
Council will also be asked to consider a pilot program to extend washroom hours at Canada Games Plaza from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, with an on-site monitor during operating hours.
…
The councillors also reference solutions implemented in Valemount, where self-cleaning, year-round public washrooms have been installed.
I am very much an advocate for this issue. I truly think you can’t argue we’re any sort of a city without public washrooms — and yet they are constantly closed. I was with my young niece at Lheidli T’enneh Park this past summer and the bathroom closest to the playground was inaccessible, while the Exploration Place was only open to paying customers, so for anyone with young children it’s a spring across the grounds, which is ridiculous. We want people to visit downtown but there’s nowhere for them to relieve themselves while on a roadtrip — let alone if you have people from the Hart or College Heights shopping on a Saturday. I understand the difficulties associated with maintaining public washroom access but this difficulty exists everywhere and ALSO you can’t have no facilities for people to use AND get upset about feces and urine in back alleys at the same time. I’m glad to see some councillors taking this as a priority.
News roundup:
Prince George RCMP officers to start wearing body cams on Monday.
Fixed link from yesterday: IIO investigating the death of a Prince George man.
Craig Brennan re-elected as SD57 chair. Buried beneath that lede is, I think, more pertinent news: the board also approved the livestreaming and online archiving of all future public borad and committee meetings starting in January.
Also on school board, the carver who first created the signage outside the school district office is refurbishing it, along with his daughter. (here’s a picture of the sign, if you don’t know what I’m talking about).
Prince George RCMP seeking public’s help in finding missing man.
Stolen logging truck recovered after chase near Quesnel, B.C.
Reappointment to allow continued research into climate change at UNBC.
School seeks donations to fund food hampers for students over winter break.
Editorial: Civic Core Plan is still the best option for Prince George's Canada Games Plaza.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is set to open Friday at Vanier Hall.
CNC’s Prince George campus offering open house for prospective students.
Meals on Wheels welcomes $40,000 donation from Prince George Ford.
Two Rivers Gallery presents the Whimsy & Wonder Holiday Market.
Nove Voce presents A Choral Story Time of How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
A reader writes: I’m sending you a few photos of our upcoming play “Bluebirds” that we are performing on Sun. Nov. 17 and Mon. Nov. 18 at Knox Performance Centre (as part of UNBC’s Inspiring Women Among Us event).
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Send feedback by emailing northerncapitalnews@gmail.com. Find me online at akurjata.ca.
Public bathrooms are a simple way of looking at the complexity of homelessness and the negative impacts of mental health and addiction on communities.
It seems that are some that think investing in public bathroom infrastructure is wasting their tax dollars and enabling people to continue to take advantage of their hard work that provides those expenditures. I get this perspective, especially when said infrastructure is vandalized and needs additional funds to repair and security monitor. Frustrating!
Other people are able to rationally see beyond their emotions and see that not offering infrastructure, while it feels right, has trade offs, as you described (public poop, and not punishing rule following citizens and visitors).
And there is compassion, and seeing beyond self interest. Do the right thing for moral reasons, even if means a higher tax bill or short term challenges. How many of us have been in a situation where you had to go but no infrastructure was available. How did that make you feel? What did you do? How much harder would that situation be if you were a person of colour, or showed signs of poverty and addiction?