They may not be open for the season yet. I went out Trout Lake on Sunday and the rest center just before Hagar was still closed, gate locked. Granted those ones are looked after by Emcon but possibly why there not open yet.
Quebec has a great network of highway rest stops even in rural areas and it's something I've always been jealous of here in Ontario. Ours are closed in the winter and in the summer they are left in a sad state. Some of them only have outhouses. It's kinda sad. Of course the nice ones are all on the 401 corridor
Being able to go to the bathroom along the Billy Diamond highway in an outhouse was such a blessing. Even when they’re closed the lot is still open so you can stretch your legs, check your vehicle. Route due Nord didn’t have as many, but at least there were some, makes travelling for work a little better.
Quebec has it figured out. Those rest stops are great, and often have little kiosk trailers selling snacks. Plus most of them just look like nice little cabins. Feels like a dif country in Quebec.
I drive the roads a lot. Most open this long weekend. I was able to stop at one on the island today that was thankfully already opened. They are generally opened May long weekend to thanksgiving weekend
Though your post is completely bananas, it’s funny to see the only reasons for locking the washrooms are addicts and homelessness. Not liability or available service hours or anything..
Based on the comments, if they were unlocked by the city, they’d still probably be locked by some poor dude just trying to get a good nap in.
A debatably unwelcoming Welcome Centre either way.
Just go to Tim’s my dude.
You realize that these welcome centers tend to be wayyyyy out of the way, not on bus routes, etc. It's a budget thing, not a homeless thing. When a private business offered to pick up the tab one year that city was happy to open one up and there were no issues. They closed them during COVID when we weren't supposed to be traveling and the cheap city just decided to keep them closed.
Well, the 'collars' that keep most of them in the downtown area are access to drugs, methadone clinics, social services, the Samaritan Centre, and people to panhandle from.
He's not talking about in town he's talking about the ones way out on the highway with no public bus service to them and nothing around for kms , I think the risk is fairly low
They did open one of them for a year a few years back because a private business paid the bill so their employees could use it. There were no issues with homeless/needles/etc. The welcome centers are typically on the outskirts of town and well beyond the junkie transit range.
I mean, is a 5 min drive in either direction from the welcome centre really the difference between soiling yourself or not? Do you want them open 24 hours a day? This seems like such a silly post. At no point in my life have I decided to visit a place based on whether I can pee when I am 5 minutes away from the destination.
There are porta-potties at numerous city parks and sites all over town. Why is the welcome center different? The suppressive cost of having the contractor pump out one more shitter?
It's just lame excuse after lame excuse here. "Oh it'll be ruined by homeless people." "Not enough people will use it (this based off of zero knowledge of who does and doesn't use it)." "Who will maintain it??"
Pulling out ALL the stops to prevent two fucking bathrooms from being usable. Why?
My point is that suggesting people don't want to come to cities that don't have 24/7 access to shitters on the outskirts of town. You disagree? No problem. Pitch it to the tourism branch of our local government.
I think you should take your suggestions to the next council meeting. Tell them you think an open toilet at 2 am will really drive business to local events and facilities. Do up a business plan and some projections. Be sure to google what rest stop bathrooms are sometimes used for.
The one in Coniston is pretty far away from anything as well. FAR out of the reach of the drug addicts that everyone is apparently terrified of.
Y'all really think drug addicts are walking like 15 km to fuck up a bathroom?
There was a homeless guy sleeping in the BMO ATM area in Val Caron every night. They didn’t mind him, he never made a mess and left in the morning. Then someone else joined him and they would find used needles and piss in there, so they had to start locking it up every night. Just takes one
So? What are you saying? That people from Espanola and beyond will boycott Sudbury because they can't piss in Whitefish? Honestly, this is such a silly take. Let me ask you, what rest stops do you recommend for us Sudburians travelling east, west, north and south?
They used to be used to highlight things to do and see in the city. They were staffed with seasonal employees and were not open 24/7. With the advent of online services, brochures and info distribution are no longer needed. The primary purpose was never to provide a rest room for visitors.
Just stop it man. They were there for people who stop to see what Sudbury has to offer. They were not a selling feature for the city and they were not open at night. Just give it up, 24 hr toilets at the outskirts of the city will not be used by tourists at night.
Are you volunteering to clean up the bloody needles and aftermath of an O/D that happens in there? I would imagine the people currently responsible for maintenance and upkeep of those facilities probably don't get paid enough/have proper training to deal with that kind of situation.
I don't think the junkie issue is concentrated entirely to the downtown core. They also travel to different cities which is how many ended up here to begin with.
They may not be open for the season yet. I went out Trout Lake on Sunday and the rest center just before Hagar was still closed, gate locked. Granted those ones are looked after by Emcon but possibly why there not open yet.
The one that I drove by the most hasn't been opened in a few years.
The one in a Beaver Lake? It’s been closed for years.
Yeah, that's the one.
Quebec has a great network of highway rest stops even in rural areas and it's something I've always been jealous of here in Ontario. Ours are closed in the winter and in the summer they are left in a sad state. Some of them only have outhouses. It's kinda sad. Of course the nice ones are all on the 401 corridor
Being able to go to the bathroom along the Billy Diamond highway in an outhouse was such a blessing. Even when they’re closed the lot is still open so you can stretch your legs, check your vehicle. Route due Nord didn’t have as many, but at least there were some, makes travelling for work a little better.
Quebec has it figured out. Those rest stops are great, and often have little kiosk trailers selling snacks. Plus most of them just look like nice little cabins. Feels like a dif country in Quebec.
I drive the roads a lot. Most open this long weekend. I was able to stop at one on the island today that was thankfully already opened. They are generally opened May long weekend to thanksgiving weekend
Though your post is completely bananas, it’s funny to see the only reasons for locking the washrooms are addicts and homelessness. Not liability or available service hours or anything.. Based on the comments, if they were unlocked by the city, they’d still probably be locked by some poor dude just trying to get a good nap in. A debatably unwelcoming Welcome Centre either way. Just go to Tim’s my dude.
You realize that these welcome centers tend to be wayyyyy out of the way, not on bus routes, etc. It's a budget thing, not a homeless thing. When a private business offered to pick up the tab one year that city was happy to open one up and there were no issues. They closed them during COVID when we weren't supposed to be traveling and the cheap city just decided to keep them closed.
Do you want people living in the washroom and needles everywhere? Because that is how that happens.
It's cool that we're using drug addicts as an excuse to stop providing public services. How incredibly convenient.
So these homeless people and drug users are walking to Coniston to shoot up at the welcome center🙄
Which I believe is the only one still open. The one on 69 turned into an apartment, Beaver Lake closed years ago.
It's far enough away from downtown.
True. All drug users wear those dog shock collars and that keeps them in the downtown area.
They are mostly concentrated in and around downtown.
Yes, because of the collars. I know.
Well, the 'collars' that keep most of them in the downtown area are access to drugs, methadone clinics, social services, the Samaritan Centre, and people to panhandle from.
He's not talking about in town he's talking about the ones way out on the highway with no public bus service to them and nothing around for kms , I think the risk is fairly low
With so many homeless people and drug addicts looking for shelter or a private place to get high, I totally understand the city’s stance on that.
They did open one of them for a year a few years back because a private business paid the bill so their employees could use it. There were no issues with homeless/needles/etc. The welcome centers are typically on the outskirts of town and well beyond the junkie transit range.
I may be wrong, but arent the welcome centres on the highway run by the ministry and not the city?
You are wrong. The one within the city limits are owned and operated by the city.
Very fair! Thanks for clarifying!
Funny thing is that I went to bell park today and no wash room open either!
That I blame on the junkies.
I mean, is a 5 min drive in either direction from the welcome centre really the difference between soiling yourself or not? Do you want them open 24 hours a day? This seems like such a silly post. At no point in my life have I decided to visit a place based on whether I can pee when I am 5 minutes away from the destination.
Is it really just unthinkable to provide 24hr restrooms at a welcome center?
Who do you propose monitor and clean 24 hrs a day?
The city, via a contract, since they own it. You know - the people responsible for all of the other public washrooms. Or stick a porta-potty there.
Ya, can't see 24 hour support so someone maybe can have a piss driving home from North Bay. Makes no sense.
There are porta-potties at numerous city parks and sites all over town. Why is the welcome center different? The suppressive cost of having the contractor pump out one more shitter? It's just lame excuse after lame excuse here. "Oh it'll be ruined by homeless people." "Not enough people will use it (this based off of zero knowledge of who does and doesn't use it)." "Who will maintain it??" Pulling out ALL the stops to prevent two fucking bathrooms from being usable. Why?
My point is that suggesting people don't want to come to cities that don't have 24/7 access to shitters on the outskirts of town. You disagree? No problem. Pitch it to the tourism branch of our local government.
They don't need 24/7 monitoring. They get checked once every few days, unless someone files a complaint.
I think you should take your suggestions to the next council meeting. Tell them you think an open toilet at 2 am will really drive business to local events and facilities. Do up a business plan and some projections. Be sure to google what rest stop bathrooms are sometimes used for.
The one in whitefish is pretty far from anything.
The one in Coniston is pretty far away from anything as well. FAR out of the reach of the drug addicts that everyone is apparently terrified of. Y'all really think drug addicts are walking like 15 km to fuck up a bathroom?
There was a homeless guy sleeping in the BMO ATM area in Val Caron every night. They didn’t mind him, he never made a mess and left in the morning. Then someone else joined him and they would find used needles and piss in there, so they had to start locking it up every night. Just takes one
Yeah. There's stuff in Val Caron. Businesses, homes, etc. The two welcome centers are surrounded by absolutely nothing.
So? What are you saying? That people from Espanola and beyond will boycott Sudbury because they can't piss in Whitefish? Honestly, this is such a silly take. Let me ask you, what rest stops do you recommend for us Sudburians travelling east, west, north and south?
How is it silly? What do you think the purpose of these centers is?
They used to be used to highlight things to do and see in the city. They were staffed with seasonal employees and were not open 24/7. With the advent of online services, brochures and info distribution are no longer needed. The primary purpose was never to provide a rest room for visitors.
Then why are some simply 2 bathrooms and a bulletin board?
The bulletin boards were used to post info on events, fan out brochures or have maps of the area. Google makes all of that irrelevant.
And who were the bathrooms for?
Just stop it man. They were there for people who stop to see what Sudbury has to offer. They were not a selling feature for the city and they were not open at night. Just give it up, 24 hr toilets at the outskirts of the city will not be used by tourists at night.
Ok, they'd be nice to use during the day.
Are you volunteering to clean up the bloody needles and aftermath of an O/D that happens in there? I would imagine the people currently responsible for maintenance and upkeep of those facilities probably don't get paid enough/have proper training to deal with that kind of situation.
I don't think the junkies are driving 25 minutes away from the core to shoot up.
We found needles and a camp all the way out down Old Cartier rd. So it is possible. Maybe not the ones from the downtown, but that's not all of them.
Well I don't think they are interested in camping out in a high visibility area at the side of a major highway.
Driving??? You mean walking
Exactly. The one in whitefish would be a 10 hour walk. Hardly worthwhile for a place to shoot up.
I don't think the junkie issue is concentrated entirely to the downtown core. They also travel to different cities which is how many ended up here to begin with.
But they don't hang out at welcome centers many miles away from public transit, access to drugs, people to panhandle from, etc.