‘It was top-of-the-line’: Outdoor washroom worth $18K on N.B. trail destroyed by fire

An eco-friendly washroom in Riverview, N.B., was recently vandalized.

The Town of Riverview in New Brunswick is reaching out to residents after an expensive, top-of-the line outdoor bathroom was recently destroyed by fire.

On Tuesday, a social media post from the town stated it’s “heartbreaking” to see acts of mischief that have targeted some of its beloved assets.

“We had a few incidents back-to-back that kind of made it something we wanted to talk to the public,” said Ashly Barron, a spokesperson for the town.

The environmentally-friendly public restroom located on a trail in the Mill Creek Nature Park burned to the ground late Sunday or early Monday.

“The repair, or replacement of that restroom is estimated around $18,000,” said Barron.

She said the high price reflects the building materials, tank, labour and waterless composting toilet.

People using the trail on Wednesday were surprised and disappointed when they saw there was nothing left to the washroom.

Chris Richard uses the trail at least three times a week.

“A lot of our tax dollars go into that infrastructure in and around here. So, it makes it very nice, but to see that, no. Not good,” said Richard.

Vicky Black also walks in the nature park on a regular basis.

“It’s eye-opening because you think you live in a safe neighbourhood, feel connected and something so senseless would happen?” said Black. “We just feel so safe in our neighbourhood and don’t feel that those kinds of incidents happen here.”

Riverview MLA Rob Weir said the bathroom was well-needed.

“It was put in there in 2020, it’s a big deal. It’s an environmentally-friendly bathroom that composts waste. It was top-of-the-line, now it’s gone,” said Weir. “These are infrastructure projects that are terribly important to our community.”

Barron said there was also some damage done to the lighting structure on the landmark Hollywood-style Riverview sign that overlooks the city.

The social media post was intended to inform residents about the recent acts of vandalism, but to also get people talking and hopefully contact the police if they have any information.

“I think here in Riverview we’re a community that very much has each other’s backs and a lot of times people talk or they hear something and every little bit of information can help, especially when related to an ongoing investigation or crime,” said Barron.

“We did want to put it out there in case someone has heard something and that just helps deter future vandalism and crimes.”

Weir is hoping Riverview residents will speak out to make sure everyone understands the significance and cost of infrastructure projects.

“This park is beautiful, wonderful, it’s used by many people,” said Weir. “We’ve all used that bathroom. It’s a needed piece of infrastructure and I’m very sad to see it gone.”

Barron isn’t sure if the town will go ahead and replace the washroom or not.

There is another bathroom located right next to the one that burned down that doesn’t appear to be damaged.

The cost of the damage to the lighting structure is minimal and more of an inconvenience, Barron said.

“We won’t be deterred by continuing to invest in public spaces and things that bring the community joy,” said Barron.

As for security footage, Barron said there are no permanent cameras in the Mill Creek Nature Park right now.

“Even with the cameras in the right places, it’s still challenging to capture the footage required to support an investigation,” she noted.

The Codiac Regional RCMP is investigating the incidents.

The town is asking anyone with knowledge of any act of vandalism or mischief to report it to police.

Non-urgent information can be shared through the RCMP’s online reporting tool.

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