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Cranbrook, BC (October 17, 2023) -- Public Works will begin shutting down most public washrooms in parks and greenspaces over the next few days.

Although the weather is still warmer during the day currently, the evenings and overnights are regularly getting close to freezing which can cause water lines in these facilities to freeze.  Crews will be starting to shut off the water and blow out the lines.

Washroom facilities in Rotary Park, and the washrooms located on the west side of Idlewild Lake at the base of the sledding hill will remain open from 8am to 3pm Monday to Friday. These facilities are built to be open to the public year-round.

Vandalism to most public washroom facilities continues to grow steadily, which is creating a lot of extra and unnecessary work by staff to have to make repairs, remove graffiti, and clean up human waste.  This is not how we treat these public facilities. Over the years we’ve needed to close washrooms during peak times and remove both paper towel and soap dispensers because of repeated vandalism.  

The City will permanently close public washroom facilities if they are continuously vandalized.

If you see vandalism occurring or find any of our washroom facilities vandalized, please call us at 311 or report it through our 311 app.