Washrooms, bike safety, plastic bag ban discussed

A full agenda dominated Regina city council on Monday night as council addressed issues ranging from cycling safety to a lack of public washrooms in Regina’s downtown. Here’s a brief look at what happened.

PUBLIC WASHROOMS PILOT APPROVED

Starting in May, residents wandering Regina’s downtown will notice a new feature somewhere on City Square Plaza, a feature that may provide some much-needed relief.

Council has approved a fivemonth pilot project to test out stand-alone washrooms in the plaza starting in the spring of 2020.

“It’s something we’ve been tracking since the development of the plaza, and it was noted as a need in the 2010 Regina Downtown Neighbourhood Plan,” Judith Veresuk, executive director of the Regina Downtown Business Improvement District, said in an interview earlier this month.

During the pilot, the city would assess the need for the washrooms by tracking usage and maintenance challenges before committing to a permanent facility, which could cost anywhere from $150,000 to $750,000, depending on design and servicing requirements.

There are also challenges with illegal activity to consider, including vandalism, prostitution, drugs sales and squatting — similar issues experienced by the Provincial Capital Commission’s public washrooms in Wascana Centre.

The pilot project will cost $20,000, which would be requested through the 2020 budget.

CYCLING SAFETY MOTION TABLED

After what began as a debate over safe passing distances between motor vehicles and cyclists, but ended in discussion on whether or not helmets should be mandatory for cyclists in Regina, a motion addressing cycling safety was tabled during Monday night’s meeting.

The motion called for a bylaw that would require motor vehicles passing cyclists at a speed over 60 km/h to maintain a distance of 1.5 metres, and if passing under 60 km/h to maintain a distance of one metre.

But with uncertainly over how the city would enforce the bylaw and other wanting details, council asked administration to come back with a report before making any decisions about a bylaw.

“We want to know what other municipalities have done,” said Ward 4 Coun. Lori Bresciani on Monday. “How have they enforced it? Has it helped?”

There was also talk of lowering the speed to 50 km/h instead of 60 to better suit the city’s speed limits. Administration will come back to council with the report by the first quarter of 2020. The report will also explore mandatory helmets.

SINGLE-USE PLASTIC BAG BAN MOTION DEFERRED

A motion brought forward Monday night to ban single-use plastic shopping bags was deferred by council in order to streamline the city’s environmental efforts.

Since Ward 2 Coun. Bob Hawkins first brought forward a motion to ban the bags, the federal government has announced its intent to ban single-use plastics. City council approved a study on limiting single-use plastics, complete with public consultation, as part of its own environmental efforts.

The report is scheduled to come before council early next year, and Hawkins moved Monday night to defer the plastic-bag motion until then in order to collect public feedback before implementing any such bans.

“That may be a way of solving these threads which are all coming together,” said Hawkins.