DUFFERIN PARK

THIS IS WHERE I USED TO HANG OUT TO FEEL COOL. HAHAHAHAHAHHA

Toilet not welcomed by all
Not adequate in high-density park where groups of children from many day-care facilties play
Sep. 19, 2006. 01:00 AM

Tempest in a composting toilet

Sept. 17.

Many of us in the Dufferin Grove Park neighbourhood are indeed grateful for the innovative work done in Dufferin Park by park activist Jutta Mason and her team of recreationists. Unfortunately, there is no process for disagreeing with projects initiated by the Friends of Dufferin Grove. If you have concerns about one of their projects and you live right by the park, this group does not care. This was evident because they were too afraid to let the neighbourhood know about the composting toilet project.

Community residents on streets directly surrounding the park were not invited to a meeting regarding the "groundbreaking" idea of a composting toilet smack dab in the centre of their precious green space. Some neighbours saw signs of construction and contacted Councillor Adam Giambrone but I was told he did not reply to their concerns. When challenged in person, Giambrone promised he would publish and distribute a notice of the more recent meeting reported in the article in the Star, but he failed to do so.

None of the residents living around the park was given an invitation or notification of an earlier July 25 meeting explaining the project. I have checked with a group called the Toronto Environmental Alliance which informed me that they could not guarantee that the composting toilet would not leak. I was also made aware that the number of users must be limited and exactly what goes into the toilet must be controlled, otherwise the toilet will not work properly.

I asked one of the activists who supported the composting toilet what she would do to ensure a working toilet and she said she would count and limit the number of users and check the toilet for foreign objects. I'm sure her dedication and her enthusiasm for this task would fade after a day or two. As well, the cost of hiring a worker for such a task seems like a waste of money.

Some people support the composting toilet because the city will not provide a proper flush toilet near the wading pool for another two or three years. A single composting toilet is inadequate in a high density area like Dufferin Grove Park where large groups of children from many day-care facilities attend daily. Although this toilet is closer to the pool than the existing washrooms, I believe children will still find the wading pool handier and far more familiar territory.

The Friends of Dufferin Grove would be better "friends" to the park if they lobbied for several working flush toilets in a decent building rather than a composting toilet in a mud and straw hut camouflaged by tall, large earthen sculptures.

A group of private citizens should not be able to build whatever they want on public parkland without following a fair approval process. In the future, the city must notify and survey the residents on streets surrounding the park before yet another building goes up without consulting those people most affected by the development.

After all, we've got to live with it.