St-Hubert Plaza piloting three public toilets

The local merchants association on St-Hubert Street in Montreal hasinstalled three temporary public washrooms as part of a pilot project.

Public washrooms are scarce in the area, and the merchant's association hopes the toilets will be installed permanently, with some financial help from the borough.

Mike Parente, director general of the Plaza St-Hubert merchants association, says one of the most common complaints from merchants and shoppers is that there is nowhere to go to the washroom.

During the pilot project, the three bathroom stalls are open during business hours, from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Unlike some public washrooms in other parts of the world, they're free for use.

"It's going extremely well," said Parente. "It was a big need on the street, and it's basically a need that all humans have, so we had to find a solution."

Though the toilets are temporary, they're not standard Porta-Potties. They have built-in water reservoirs as well as a waste reservoir.

The borough is doing major street work in the coming year. Parente says it's a good opportunity to build permanent bathrooms.