Moncton Mayor George LeBlanc is opposed to the city’s plan to spend $300,000 to build new washrooms in the city’s largest park.

LeBlanc told council earlier this week two good homes could be built for the same price as what the city will spend building new washrooms in Centennial Park.

"At the risk of being facetious, how many families are going to live in these buildings,” LeBlanc said.

So he voted against the washrooms, which will contain 12 unisex stalls. The mayor turned out to be the only opponent to the project.

One structure will contain eight stalls and close during the winter. The other, with four stalls, will be open year-round.

Still, the mayor said he wasn't impressed with the cost of the project.

"You already know what my point is, and I do see there is some competitive bidding here, but it just strikes me as a heck of a lot of money to be building a couple of washrooms,” LeBlanc said.

Dan Hicks, the city's parks supervisor, justified the cost, saying on warm summer days, the existing washrooms can have lineups of 15 people.

"These see a lot more traffic than the average individual household, so in the park in the summertime, it's a very, very busy place,” Hicks said.

Construction on the washrooms is set to begin in early September.