Jackson Park washrooms need replacement at cost of $1M, report says
The 53-year-old washrooms at Jackson Park’s Queen Elizabeth II Sunken Gardens need replacing or renovation at a cost of almost $1 million, a city report says. The report calls for a total of $2.1 million in improvements to better serve weddings, tour buses, prom pictures and Bright Lights Windsor. The inaugural $1.5-million holiday lights display was a popular destination last winter with thousands of people attending the park in cold weather conditions. But the park improvements, including the washrooms overhaul, have been on the books for a long time, parks development manager Mike Clement said this week. The main problem with the washrooms is they don’t meet current standards for accessibility and are too small to accommodate a new accessible layout. Clement said Bright Lights, as well as the many other events held in the park, would certainly benefit from improved, heated, “four-season” washrooms.
“There are a lot of special events that happen there as well. Proms and school photos, and tour buses. When you get a lot of people in the park for that sort of thing, the parking gets crazy as well as the use of the washrooms and everything.” The park, established in 1927, features “some of the most magnificent formal gardens and fountains in Windsor,” according to the report. The 1965 washroom and maintenance building is at the east end of the sunken gardens, which were created in 1930 and named after Queen Elizabeth II following her 1984 visit to Windsor.
The city is in the midst of a 20- year redevelopment plan for the park. A new playground, splash pad, picnic shelter and washroom building were recently installed in the southwest corner.
The $2.1-million washroom and parking lot improvements are the next step, according to Clement, who said some of the lots are still gravel. The washrooms are said to be in “fair condition,” but the report adds they “no longer suit the needs of park users and the special events that are held in the garden on a year-round basis.” The $1-million reconstruction of two parking lots also includes new connector trails and sidewalks.
The project goes to city council on Monday for approval using funds set aside in the capital budget. Meanwhile, city staff are investigating the possible restoration of the 1931 entrance gates — listed on the municipal heritage registry — located at Ouellette Avenue and Tecumseh Road.