A PROJECT TO build three public washroom buildings in Whistler Village is moving ahead after council issued development permits for the buildings on March 3.
The bathrooms will be built at the Gateway Loop, Whistler Olympic Plaza, and on the grounds of the Lost Lake PassivHaus (the first two received development permits at the March 3 council meeting, while the third does not require one as it is outside of the Whistler Village Core).
The project drew controversy during November's budgeting process for its $4.5-million price tag.
While some minor changes were made to the buildings to reduce costs, including simplifying the roof structure details and scaling back on stone work, how the final budget is impacted won't be known until the end of the process, Mayor Jack Crompton said after the meeting.
The bathrooms are proposed as one-storey, at-grade facilities with multi-stall men's and women's washrooms, single-room washrooms and accessible washrooms. A janitor's room and mechanical room are included in the designs, and the sites incorporate new hardscaping to accommodate pedestrian access as well as new bike racks.
While some trees and landscaping will need to be removed at the Gateway Loop site, mature stands of trees closest to Village Gate Boulevard will be protected, and the landscaping plan includes replanting.
Councillor John Grills asked if hours of operation have been established for the Gateway Loop bathrooms.
"I think it's a great service to have washrooms available in that area, the taxi loop, as long as possible each evening," Grills said.
While hours of operation have yet to be set, "the intent is to provide service late night in that area," said parks planning manager Martin Pardoe.
And while there's been controversy in the community over the project, the new facilities are sorely needed in each location, said Coun. Cathy Jewett, noting the "severely taxed" facilities at Lost Lake, the "ratty-looking trailers" at Olympic Plaza and the complete absence of any bathrooms at the taxi loop.
"There is no place to go, and so a lot of them are going in the bushes there," Jewett said.
"So it's time that we had proper sanitary facilities that are easy to clean, that are robust, that will stand up to the taxi-loop crowd and all those crazy cross-country skiers."
Construction is expected to begin in April, with completion planned by the end of the year or in early 2021.
The project was first proposed at a total cost of $3 million in early 2019, but a municipal tendering process returned no bids within the original budget.
The new, $4.58 million budget (all from provincial Resort Municipality Initiative funds) was built after an "extensive overview" that is in line with best practices, Crompton told Pique in November, adding that the RMOW is confident the new total is reasonable (see Pique, Nov. 21, 2019: "Flushing the details out of Whistler's $4.5M bathrooms").
