Bellingham plans to open showers at Civic Stadium during coronavirus pandemic
Bellingham and the Whatcom County Health Department are working on a program to open the showers at Civic Stadium for those who need them, according to Nicole Oliver, interim Parks and Recreation Director with the city, and Melissa Bianconi, city parks recreation manager.
The program, which will make the showers available two days a week, is expected to start this week once all details have been finalized, Bianconi said.
Oliver said the community locker rooms at Civic Stadium have a number of showers that people are able to use and access when the facility is normally open. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Civic Stadium and its amenities have been closed.
As of Friday, April 17, there were 271 residents who had tested positive for the new coronavirus in Whatcom County, and 25 deaths of people who had tested positive for the respiratory illness. Friday was also the first time in 32 days that the county health department reported zero new positive tests or deaths.
Oliver said the showers will be for anyone who needs them, not just for people who are unsheltered. She said staff will be onsite to make sure social distancing guidelines are followed. Bianconi said the staffing details were still being worked out as of Friday, April 17.
The need for showers during the coronavirus outbreak was identified by Opportunity Council’s homeless outreach team, Oliver said. Oliver said she didn’t believe the city was going to open the showers that are available at Lake Padden Park because it might encourage swimming and gathering. She said they’re also harder to patrol and disinfect.
“Just like keeping the restrooms open in all parks, we’re making sure people have the option for a shower, which is a basic need. We’re able to help meet those (needs) for people who need those things,” Oliver said.
The city previously announced that parks, trails and restrooms at city parks will be kept open during the public health emergency. The city has limited parking at some of the most popular parks and also has park ambassadors patrolling the park areas on a daily basis to remind visitors to follow social distancing guidelines and Gov. Jay Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order. People are strongly discouraged from “hanging out” at the parks, a previous city press release stated.
Oliver told the Bellingham City Council at its meeting Monday, April 13, that Bellingham has 24 different trail corridors, and 80 miles of trails on more than 3,000 acres of parks or open space. She encouraged people to find a new trail and to skip the most popular areas, such as Lake Padden, Whatcom Falls Park or Taylor Dock.
Oliver said the city has received many questions about why it has decided to leave its restrooms open.
“One of the reasons is because unsheltered people and others who often use park restrooms depend on those restrooms, and if we didn’t have them open, they would be left without options creating more environmental and health hazards,” Oliver told the council.
Oliver said the city, county health department and homeless outreach teams are also working on giving lists to homeless people that identify the addresses and times park restrooms are open.
“With businesses closing, the people living in their cars might not know what restrooms are open. So we’re keeping them all open in parks and we’ve given that information to the (homeless outreach team),” Oliver said.
It’s not the first time that the city has repurposed Civic Stadium to address the needs of homeless people. During the winter months last year, it was also used as a temporary overnight shelter for women.
“We’re just happy to be able to have the facilities, so we’ll keep them really clean and make the service available for the community,” Oliver said.
Location of showers corrected April 22, 2020.
This story was originally published April 21, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
