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Public washroom on Main and Powell in East Vancouver. (Kristen Frier)
The Vancouver Park Board plans to build new washrooms and upgrade existing ones in parks, recreation centres, and other public places to address the public’s health and accessibility concerns.
Demands regarding this matter have increased as the pandemic continues to affect businesses like fast-food restaurants or local shops, which originally allow people to use their washrooms. Individuals now turn to public washrooms and portable potties, but the constant usage may present potential health risks for the community.
A comprehensive plan for Vancouver’s public washrooms is in the works containing short and long term strategies for improvements, sanitation, and maintenance, a news release by Daily Hive reports. The Vancouver Park Board allocated around $25,000 annually for janitorial services and added to the budget for the operating costs of 95 washrooms.
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Conflicts between a group of homeless people and businesses in the area of Main Street and 14th Avenue have escalated to the point of exasperation for the manager of the JJ Bean café, who can’t seem to get any help with the problem.
“The police basically tell me … there’s literally nothing they can do and I should talk to the city,” manager Julian Bentley said. “But when I talk to the city, they tell me that I need to talk to the police.”
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COVID-19 Holds Steady in Downtown Eastside with Vaccinations on the Way
After a big increase in the fall, Vancouver’s poorest neighbourhoods haven’t seen a surge in cases.
Jen St. Denis is The Tyee’s Downtown Eastside reporter. Find her on Twitter @JenStDen. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative. SHARES Many measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 like social distancing are impossible in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside where people live on the streets or in crowded housing.
Photo by Jesse Winter.
The local health area that includes Vancouver’s poorest neighbourhoods continued to add COVID-19 cases throughout November and December, but Vancouver Coastal Health says “the curve is decreasing” among people who live and work in the Downtown Eastside, Chinatown and Strathcona.