Throughout the pandemic, city residents have turned to parks for a diverse range of activities like eating meals, hanging out with friends, and getting exercise in all seasons. As parks have increasingly become a destination for social outings, city residents are asking for more relaxed by-laws around alcohol consumption, with 59% of municipalities reporting they’ve noticed increased interest in drinking in parks over the past year. Another area where park planning has not yet caught up to new demands is winterized washrooms—with only 43% of washrooms open year-round, supply lags behind demand despite the increased use of parks we’ve seen during the past two winter seasons.
Interest in winter park use has steadily increased over the past several years; however, the provision of winterized washroom facilities in parks has lagged behind. On average, only 43% of park washrooms are open year-round. In fact, 69% of survey respondents indicated that they would like to see more year-round public washrooms in parks—this was the most highly requested amenity.
