Ward 7 Councillor Terry Wong has revealed that discussions for public washrooms in Chinatown have been underway for the past 18 months, with a possibility of public improvements as part of Tomorrow’s Chinatown.
Speaking to LWC on Jan. 9, he said that some funding had been put aside as part of the Chinatown ARP and his office had been asked about that funding to create a combination washroom and recreational space similar to The Open in the East Village.
“The people that are looking at using public washrooms have made reference to seniors, particularly those are coming from on transit from the north side of city, for example—regarding the fact that they have to ride transit, and also there’s no place to go,” he said.
“The defecation that some of the vulnerable populations are doing in around the Chinatown residents, businesses and alleys sparked that same need. So, the Chinatown community itself has come up with a list of things that they’d like to see improved. This is just one of those things.”
He said that he has had conversations with City of Calgary administration and the Calgary Downtown Association about getting more public washrooms for the downtown, including other locations at Century Park, at Olympic Plaza once the transformation there is complete, as well as other areas like Eau Claire, Prince’s Island Park, and the Riverwalk Pathway.
“It doesn’t mean to say we don’t have requests in the Beltline or outside the greater downtown in Crescent Heights, Inglewood, Ramsey, and Kensington,” Wong said.
“You’re going to see more and more of those requests coming forward.”
Discussions need to be held during Calgary budget
He said that the $2.2 million price tag for The Open in the East Village, which includes a pickleball court, spectator seating area, outdoor greenery, and a washroom might not be affordable or appropriate for all the washroom requests.
“I don’t expect to be a cookie cutter. What I do expect, though, is the lessons learned from an architectural engineering design perspective. We pay to lift it, but the actual design is going to be dependent on the location and the community’s need.”
He said that looking at a location like Sien Lok Park means maybe a pickleball court isn’t necessarily the most appropriate recreational choice.
“We’ve got an aging population in there, and the aging population that likes to go to sleep at eight o’clock at night. So, having pickleball noise resonating through the park at that time may not be right, but having this multi-generational recreation tied to washrooms might be worth considering,” Wong said.
He said that the washroom discussion would likely be considered during the mid-cycle budget adjustments in 2026 and then again with the new four-year budget cycle following the election of the new Calgary City Council.
Bill Zheng, who serves as a board member for the Chinatown BIA, said that any talk of adding new bathrooms was a great thing for the downtown and for Chinatown.
“You’ve got a lot of people who are coming there who are seniors, and because there’s a lot of residential buildings there as well, they have no access to those [washroom] locations. That makes it tough for people to come to Chinatown,” he said.
“As a Chinatown BIA board member, we want to encourage people to come to Chinatown, and we want to make sure to make sure that Chinatown is clean and safe for everyone—and it is clean and safe, and we greatly support any initiatives that can open up washrooms and new amenities that can drive people toward Chinatown.”
He said that having the City of Calgary install a permanent washroom facility would make it easier for the community to hold festivals and events.
“We’re spending so much money on port-a-potties. Even having a washroom open at night, in the evening times where the Culture Center is closed, and other larger buildings are closed… I think, will be amazing, and it will drive a lot of traffic down there.”
