by Shane Henson — November 12, 2012—A clean, stylish public restroom can be hard to come by, unless your travels lead you past a facility like the Langley Street Loo. The public bathroom, located in the downtown area of Victoria, British Columbia, has emerged the winner of Cintas Canada’s annual Best Restroom Award. Launched in 2010, the contest honors businesses across Canada that place hygiene and style at the top of their priority lists.
Langley Street Loo was chosen in part because of its open design, which offers the optimal balance of personal privacy and public access, says Cintas Canada. The bathroom features a unisex toilet, exterior hand washing station and graffiti-proof coating. This stainless steel facility is also fully accessible for people with disabilities. The Langley Street Loo was purchased from the City of Portland, Oregon, in 2011 for $90,000 and is maintained throughout the day by the city’s sanitation crew.
“At the core, this contest is intended to recognize public washroom facilities that ‘serve’ residents in surrounding communities, and the Langley Street Loo is the essence of hospitably when you consider it’s an all-accessible, well-maintained and free facility,” said Rod Farquharson, director of sales and operations for Cintas Western Canada.
According to Victoria Mayor Dean Fortin, the Langley Street Loo is part of a larger strategy that ensures the city’s downtown is vibrant and safe—day and night. “Access to public amenities, like a 24-hour washroom, [is] important to our downtown community,” he said.
Canadians voted the This Is London Club in Toronto as having the second best restroom, and a restroom in Earls took third place. The Georgian Court Hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia, came in fourth, and fifth place went to the Centre for Professional Training in Repentigny, Québec.
