The Powder Room, a national education program for people with overactive bladder, has compiled a list of public restrooms along the Sea-to-Sky Highway (Highway 99).
Since 2008, the Powder Room has encouraged Canadians to add and rate public restrooms across Canada on the Cross-Canada Powder Room Map. Restrooms along the Sea-to-Sky Highway run from Vancouver to Whistler, British Columbia, and have been chosen based on their accessibility to the highway. The public is encouraged to rate the restrooms for cleanliness and maintenance, line-ups, location and overall décor by logging onto the Cross Canada Powder Room Map www.powderroom.ca.
The Powder Room hopes to provide some relief to the one-third of Canadians who experience symptoms of an overactive bladder (OAB). A recent omnibus survey of more than 1,500 individuals, conducted for the Powder Room by Leger Marketing, reported that 28 per cent of Canadians have the urge to urinate that is sometimes difficult to put off (the primary symptom of overactive bladder); 47 per cent wake up more than twice a night to use the restroom, and 30 per cent urinate more than 8 times in a 24-hour period.
"I used to limit my travel plans for fear that I wouldn't find a bathroom in time," says Jo-Anne Tremblay, who has suffered from overactive bladder for more than 10 years. "After speaking to a doctor, I changed some lifestyle habits such as avoiding coffee before I leave on a road-trip, and began taking medication; I'm pleased to say that my life no longer revolves around a bathroom stall."