Whenever I walk around the Pearl District I think to myself "You know what's the biggest problem with this part of town? There are not nearly enough places to deposit my urine." Glad they're fixing that.

According to my calculations, construction of new public restrooms should be free. Here, check my math:

Loo insides and plumbing + TARDIS/London police box looking shell for the outside of Loo + Kickstarter + Portland geeks = free bathrooms for the city.

You're welcome.

Keep applauding while the PDC bankrupts our schools. $2.25 million is a lot of textbooks and building repairs, something this town needs infinitely more than a place to squat in the Pearl.

The Loo is cost effective because it's only one stall. But it's a hyper efficient single stall. Users do their business and move outside to wash their hands. It's also safe. People transition directly from private to public space. They go from locked door security to the safety of shared park space. Compare with traditional "gang restrooms" whose semi-public spaces encourage users to linger and do nefarious things like graffiti and bullying. Unisex and gender neutral, the Loo protects transgender people for whom the usual men's or women's is a choice fraught with danger.

It's great to live in a city where people get it. Let's hope other cities catch on and Portland's homegrown, now iconic Loo will become a distinctive export.