Port Alberni city council has agreed to install several porta-potties at Victoria Quay for the remainder of the summer season.
This decision came following a letter written by Mae LeBlanc, requesting washroom facilities at Victoria Quay. Councillor Jack McLeman pointed out, “Several years ago this came up, and we put porta-potties for the late spring to early fall and people seemed to appreciate that. I think we do need something there. We’ve got more there than we had before.”
He noted the installation of the historic millstones and the development of Millstone Park at one end of Victoria Quay, outside the fence for Catalyst Paper. Councillor Sharie Minions also commented that the park is looking good so far: planters have been installed and planted, and picnic tables and a deck installed as well.
Millstones relocated to new park
Millstone park set to open this year
The millstones stood on the Catalyst Paper property for 50 years before a community effort to move them outside the mill’s fence kicked off in 2015. The millstones were moved 400 metres in July 2016 to their present location.
The millstones were originally made in Scotland and shipped to the Alberni Valley for use in the first paper mill, which was located at Paper Mill Dam in 1892.
Catalyst donated the millstones to the city in 2014.
The Quay is also the site of the weekly Sunset Market on Wednesday evenings throughout the summer.
Councillor Denis Sauvé noted that a lot of businesses in the Victoria Quay area took the brunt of people coming in to use their washrooms, and agreed that the installation of porta potties would be a good idea.