We are excited to see an Artigiano coffee shop coming to Phibbs Exchange this year. But we can’t hold our dismay that TransLink still won’t commit to public washrooms at the busy North Vancouver transit hub. They’ll have more information “later this year,” they tell us.
That’s exactly what they said when the Phibbs revamp was announced in 2022, and again when we asked in 2023 and 2024.
We understand that public washrooms aren’t TransLink’s No. 1 priority, or even No. 2. Facing a structural deficit, they may have to cut bus routes at a time when the system is already stressed. At the same time, they’re trying to see through to completion major capital projects and expansions that are desperately needed to keep our fast-growing region moving.
But, by that same transit token, that should make a public washroom at Phibbs a relatively quick-and-easy one to get off the list. We don’t know how much money the Artigiano lease will bring in for TransLink, but we’d like to think it’s enough to cover some of the upkeep for a public john or two.
It seems a bit unsporting sell people coffee and not provide a loo to use after drinking it. But this is about more than that.
More than 16,000 people per day pass through Phibbs – a number we all want to see grow as TransLink and the province implement bus rapid transit to the North Shore. If we want people out of their cars and off our congested bridges, we have to make the transit system more appealing and more comfortable.
And at the very least, TransLink should provide us with a fresh answer. They’ve got the funding. Four years is an awfully long time to be holding it.
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