The province will soon install flush toilets and portable showers at the tent city at the Victoria courthouse lawn, where an outside tap for clean drinking water was hooked up Friday to improve health and safety for up to 90 residents living there.

“Awesome,” said Tracey Spring, 50, who said she’ll be able to wash her dog and forgo walking down Burdett Street to Sandy Merriman House for a shower.

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“They finally recognized us as humans,” said Allan Saari, 48, who’s living at the encampment with his wife and mother-in-law. Along with several other campers interviewed Friday evening, Saari has relied on the hose at Christ Church Cathedral across the street for clean water.

Scott Fortune, 30, welcomed news of the flush toilets, which will augment the three non-flush portable toilets near the back of the courthouse.

“Those things are stinky and summer makes them even more so,” he said.

Neither the date of installation nor the number of showers and flush toilets have been determined.

The province is working with the City of Victoria, Island Health, and fire and police officials to improve health and safety standards at the site until an injunction hearing scheduled for Sept. 7 at B.C. Supreme Court.

Justice Christopher Hinkson rejected B.C. Housing’s April 5 request to remove the campers. But Minister Responsible for Housing Rich Coleman has hinted there could be an application before September should lives there be at risk or “we’re not getting co-operation.”

Rev. Al Tysick of the Dandelion Society, who is on site most days bringing food or accompanying residents to hospital or social services, applauded the move to better sanitation. “Who wouldn’t want that?” he said.

Stephen Hammond, spokesman for the Mad as Hell Victoria group of neighbours, sounded outraged and worried about the improvements.

“We are very much concerned about entrenchment,” he said Friday, adding that when authorities make it easier for campers to live there, it will discourage people from moving to stable housing elsewhere.

He suggested tent city residents have the time to head to Our Place on Pandora Avenue for showers and free meals rather than have more taxpayer dollars spent on equipping tent city.

“All they have to do is get off their butts and walk a couple [of] blocks,” he said. “You don’t make it easier for people. You don’t humiliate them, you’re not inhumane to them, but you don’t make it easier to stay there — and that’s exactly what they’re doing.”

Gravel has been laid to mark emergency access paths within the camp and sanitary measures such as pest control and daily garbage collection are also in place.

Nearby neighbour James Campbell said he assumes little black boxes he sees around the tent city’s perimeter sidewalk are rat traps.

The province said it hopes the measures will address concerns from neighbours about odours and cleanliness.

kdedyna@timescolonist.com