New smart washroom the talk of Grand Bend
It’s not every day that a new washroom becomes the talk of the town.
But in the Lake Huron tourist community of Grand Bend, a new so-called 'smart washroom' has many residents and business owners flush with joy.
At Perfect Image Tattoo and Body Piercing, Manager Mike Delorme said he tries to be welcoming to everyone — but it can be a bit much when walk-ins do their business in his business.
“It becomes a little hectic,” explained Delorme. “You get a lot of people coming in with the beach, the water, the sand. It’s very messy as well too. It keeps us, every two hours we’re in there cleaning the washrooms for a lot of customers that aren’t even our customers,” he said.
Delorme is applauding the addition of a new pre-fab, year-round, 24/7 free public washroom being installed at the end of Main Street West.
Resident Scott Kelley agrees it’s long overdue.
“I think it’ll help. Tourism and people here all the time. Come down, walk your dog, bring your kids to the little park here and there you go,” said Kelley.
The new washroom is located right on the beach and just steps away from the strip. It is described as both self-cleaning and vandal-proof, with a bowl and change table that can hold the full weight of a person.
New smart washroom facility being installed in Grand Bend. April 17, 2024. (Bryan Bicknell/CTV News London)The washroom is built by restroom manufacturer Urben Blu.
Project manager Cedric Perron says smart facilities are becoming popular with municipalities.
“It’s automated and self-cleaning, so you have a cycle for washing the floor and washing the bowl every 10 users. It’s something that you can program on your phone or your computer from home. You can put it at 20 users, 30 users, as you want,” explained Perron.
It may seem wasteful to some that the new washroom is just steps away from the main beach house washrooms, however, those facilities are not winterized, closed in the off-season and have limited hours in summer.
The new smart restroom is the first of its kind in Lambton County.
Lambton Shores mayor Doug Cook said it comes with a price tag of about a $500,000, which includes installation.
“Our north beach, which doesn’t have enough coverage in the summertime. Plus, the amount of people we get here on a regular basis. Grand Bend is a very busy tourism place. And we’re taking our monies that we do earn from tourism and putting back into development,” said Cook.
The new public washroom is expected to open in early May.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Singh says the NDP 'will vote to bring this government down' in new letter
After months of being non-committal, in a new letter, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says his caucus 'will vote to bring this government down, and give Canadians a chance to vote for a government who will work for them.'
LIVE @ 10:30 a.m. ET 4 ministers to get new portfolios, 8 Liberal MPs to be promoted in Trudeau cabinet shuffle: sources
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is adding eight Liberal MPs to his front bench and will be reassigning four current ministers in Friday morning's cabinet shuffle, CTV News has learned.
Freezing rain, snow, extreme cold: Weather warnings issued from Edmonton to St. John's
Environment Canada has issued a series of winter weather alerts from Edmonton to St. John's as freezing rain, snow squalls and extreme cold blanket parts of the country.
A new book about Chrystia Freeland just came out. Here's what we learned
A new book about Chrystia Freeland has just come out, after the publishing company sped up its release date by a few months. CTV News sifted through the book and pulled out some notable anecdotes, as well as insights about Freeland's relationship with the prime minister.
'Lowlifes': B.C. family outraged over theft of outdoor Christmas decorations
Security footage from a home in Vancouver’s Kerrisdale neighbourhood clearly shows a man grabbing Christmas decorations from the front lawn, and then casually walking away with them.
A teenager kills a 7-year-old student and injures 4 others in a school knife attack in Croatia
A knife-wielding teenager walked into a school in Croatia’s capital Zagreb on Friday, killing a 7-year-old student and injuring three more children and a teacher, authorities said.
'Enough is enough': Shots fired at Toronto Jewish school for the third time since May
A Jewish elementary school in Toronto has been struck by gunfire for the third time in the last eight months.
The Royal Family unveils new Christmas cards with heartwarming family photos
The Royal Family is spreading holiday cheer with newly released Christmas cards.
'It wasn't me!': Macron under fire for Mayotte cyclone response
French President Emmanuel Macron faced widespread frustration and anger from residents of Mayotte during his visit to the Indian Ocean archipelago, which is still reeling from the damage of the strongest cyclone to hit the region in nearly a century.