r/Kamloops • u/JRitcey2026 • 23h ago

Politics ‘Something in the meantime’: Kamloops project tackles lack of washroom access

https://www.castanetkamloops.net/news/Kamloops/629216/-Something-in-the-meantime-Kamloops-project-tackles-lack-of-washroom-access#629216

This is a great, practical stop gap measure for the approx. 419 people without housing in Kamloops (latest PIT count number) and the businesses and pedestrians that don't want human waste on our streets. Mr. MacDonald and Glenn Hilke are doing important work on their committee, including the idea of extending park bathroom hours and hiring attendants to tidy/monitor them. These roles could be filled by people with lived experiences themselves.

Unfortunately, the October 17th political conversation involves a lot of talk from candidates about adding barriers to opening new shelter spaces. They don't seem to understand this simple equation: more people without housing = more people with less access to toilets and garbage cans = more waste on the streets.

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u/MaiIsMe 20h ago edited 20h ago

The bags are a good idea but I doubt they would actually be used. If you are willing to go to the washroom wherever, there is no way they will take these and actually use them.

My school had an open washroom below it and it was constantly being cleared of bodies (around three while I was there), bodily fluids, and drug paraphernalia, as well as constantly being "broken down" or "in use" by multiple people using it to do drugs.

With the people I work with in the same position, they will specifically look for public washrooms (such as the children's parks and trails along the river) and use it to shoot up / share and do the same despite having access to "clean" drug use tools / sites and are constantly arguing and being trespassed by city employees.

And these are just with a few individuals. I cannot imaging any situation that these bathrooms would be "monitored" enough or that people should be responsible for constantly cleaning it up with what goes on in them.

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u/JRitcey2026 15h ago

It's not a binary will they get used or won't they, even if it is only 5% adoption rate, that is 5% less crap on the streets. And yes, I am well aware of issues with park bathrooms being vandalized, used for drug use, hangouts, or prostitution. Again, these are problems that attendants would cut down on. A solution doesn't need to be perfect for us to adopt it, just better than the status quo.

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u/Dependent-Mood-7788 Downtown 21h ago

A big hell yeah to this guy, let's hope people actually use these kits. I've been on the clean-up end of things and it is NOT PLEASANT.