Borden Park Pavilion wins best restroom title
Bathroom facility voted No. 1 in cleaning product company's nationwide contest
If nature calls when you drop the kids off at the pool in Borden Park, you can find some relief nearby at the best toilets in the country.
The Borden Park Pavilion has flushed out the competition and has been awarded the title of Best Restroom in Canada.
Voters deemed the facility the No. 1 place for a number two in Cintas Canada's nationwide contest. Nominees were judged on cleanliness, visual appeal, innovation, functionality and unique design elements. The city-run facility will receive $2,500 in Cintas' cleaning products and services to help maintain it.
“It's really nice to receive an award that really showcases the work that the different teams, crews, Boyle Street ventures and hiregood do to keep this washroom safe and clean for citizens,” said Nicole Fraser, the city's general supervisor of parks
The city has made efforts to keep many public washrooms open during the COVID -19 pandemic, in some cases adding staff trained to work with vulnerable populations, and keep the spaces clean and safe for everyone, Fraser said.
This 273-metre-squared circular structure is nothing to turn your nose up at.
Honoured by the governor general for outstanding architecture in 2018, the pavilion's exterior is camouflaged among the trees with its highly reflective glass panels that make it look much more like an art gallery than a washroom.
Inside, there's a seating area with bright white tables and chairs, and a vibrant and colourful mural wraps the interior between the men's and women's rooms.
You will feel like royalty on the porcelain throne inside the tidy and accessible bathrooms wiped clean by dedicated staff.
In the announcement, Cintas notes some hands-free elements and a stainless-steel trough-style sink that prevents water from splashing on the floor.
Cintas Canada has been running the contest since 2010. Marketing manager Candice Raynsford said it promotes the importance of maintaining public washrooms for businesses, especially amid the pandemic as hygiene has their attention.
“The public needs to be able to have access to washrooms, and if a washroom is clean, they're going to want to come back to that business or that facility again,” she said.
She adds that visual appeal is also important and will bring people back.
“You really want to make patrons feel comfortable when they're using your facility.”
Alberta is on a roll when it comes to outstanding bathrooms.
Westview RV Park in Wetaskiwin won the title in 2020, Beaver Hills Shell in Lac La Biche won in 2019, and St. Albert Honda won in 2018.
Two of the other five finalists for this year's contest were also in Alberta: Sweet Market Esso Station in Red Deer, and the ROOFTOP in Calgary.