This morning, Commissioner Randy Leonard debuted his new “loo,” at the corner of NW 5th and Glisan. On hand to perform the ceremonial “first flush”? None other than Mayor-elect Sam Adams:
Listen to Adams’ potty break–including the crowds’ cheers of “Flush! Flush! Flush!”–here:
The new public restroom is spacious, big enough for you to bring your bike inside if needed (photo after the cut). But don’t get any thoughts of turning it into your new studio apartment–the design of the loo is meant to balance privacy and security. Leonard described the design as “pushing the edge” of Americans’ puritanical privacy needs; the louvers at the top and bottom of the bathroom give anyone who enters it “a sense of a lack of privacy.”
Leonard–who notes that some politicians have libraries or public buildings named after them, but “I’m going to have to settle for a rest room”–hopes the city will be able to coordinate the sales of these units to other cities, for $25,000 each. They’re low maintenance and “fairly inexpensive” to maintain and run, which he thinks will be a plus for other municipalities.
If this restroom is a success, it will be somewhat of a first for an American city. Public restrooms in Seattle were a spectacular failure. But groups like Sisters of the Road’s Civic Action Group are hopeful this project is a success. They gave Leonard a “golden plunger” for his work on the issue. Leonard noted that he doesn’t think he’ll ever need to use it on the public toilet. (He’s probably right–if the thing gets clogged up, workers from Clean and Safe will have to deal with it.)
Per Graham’s question, here’s a shot of the outer hand-washing spigot:
So how does the City of Portland plan on keeping these from turning into nasty nasty shoot-up sights like the Seattle public toilets did?
And how are you supposed to wash your hands?
Clean and Safe will clean them twice a day. Cops can supposedly see if people are loitering inside, because of the lower louvers–you can see people’s feet in the thing. I’m not sure how often the cops plan to patrol it, or what they plan to do in the event of discovering a loiterer.
The handsoap is inside, which creates a potentially sticky situation. There’s a water spigot on the outside wall of the restroom. So you have to squirt soap in your hand, maneuver your way out of the restroom (and the hardened steel door is HEAVY), and around to the far side of it, where you push a button that sends a stream of water out of the spigot and onto a grate in the sidewalk. I foresee either unsanitary hands, or a soaped-up inner door handle.
These toilets are no place for “Uncle Teds”. Do your business and get the hell out!
Hand Sanitizer might have made a better choice.
Did you get a look at how the toilet paper worked? Does the roll spin, or is it one of those set-ups where the roll is wedged onto a flat bar for maximum annoyance? (not that I could ever take a crap in that thing, anyway)
The sign at the interior is incorrect. The dispenser says ‘Handsoap’, but it is actually hand sanitizer. No soap required. We are trying to procure an ADA approved sign that will adequately describe the sanitizer.
Awesome, looks like you’ll be able to fit at least six junkies in there at a time!!!
More than that. I was joking with another reporter that they could lock of all us—even the TV camera guys, with their equipment—in there together. And this was a press event crawling with at least a dozen of us.
Why is this single-occupancy public toilet bigger than a NYC studio apartment?
I would assume to meet some sort of code around people with disabilities.
So much humping is going to take place in there. Before they inevitably shut it down within a year.
This burg is nothing if not “well meaning.”
These are all great ideas, people! I can’t wait to shoot up and bang a hooker in one of these silvery love sheds.
horrible idea. I’ll continue to use the bathroom at Nordstrom.
And I shall continue to pee on the sidewalk when no one is looking because I can guarantee, I’ll be at least six blocks away when the “mood” strikes.
I’m curious, do you have to pay to use the toilet? I know in a lot of European cities, having to pay a euro or something to unlock the public toilet in the first place discourages junkies and other such folk from using them to shoot up. It makes it less convenient in a sense… but then again, if it gets trashed, that’s more inconvenient than having to pay a little bit for it.
Nope, it’s free.