City Not Throwing In Towel On Unisex Change Room
01/04/2009 03:44
Unisex facility ‘different’ but has advantages
Plans to build a unisex change room with individual stalls at the Queen Elizabeth pool might be revisited, but the city doesn't want to abandon the controversial concept altogether.
The project has been placed in jeopardy since details of the change room design recently emerged.
The plans include a change room with 25 stalls that would be large enough to accommodate families or people with disabilities who require an attendant.
The change room would be open to men and women.
People would be expected to change in the stalls and not the main room.
That proposal is being vigorously opposed by the Friends of the Queen Elizabeth Pool Society, which has lobbied for years for the facility and has raised almost $400,000 for the project.
"We'd like to go down this path, recognizing that it's different than what we're used to in this city," said Rob Smyth, the city's manager of recreation facility services.
When asked if there might be any opportunity to redesign the change room, Smyth said, "I'm not going to say no."
However, the city must continue to "explore new ways of delivering services to the public," he said.
More from the Edmonton Journal.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Does this headline sound like another city administration you know folks? They won’t be told what to do about anything? Yup, sounds pretty close to home, alright. Wouldn’t the prudent thing have been to design the facility, as Spruce Grove did with their Tri Leisure Centre, with both unisex and separate male/female change rooms? Naw . . .