Page 10
Street Roots • F e b r u a r y 1 3 - 1 9 , 2 0 1 5
News
Washington, D.G., makes
space tor the Portland Loo
BY ERIC FALQUERO
C O N T R IB U T IN G W R IT E R
irty. Creepy. Hard to find when you
need them.
B
That’S how Jennifer McLaughlin
describes some of the public bathrooms
she’s used over the years. McLaughlin, a -
member of the People For Fairness
Coalition (PFFC) in Washington, D.C., sits
with a small band of advocates in a public
cafeteria each week, discussing
accomplishments and steps needed to see
more clean, safe and available public toilets
installed across the nation’s capital. And
their turning a keen eye toward Portland’s
achievements.
“I used to be on the street, and I had a
son,” she said. “It was hard to find places
that would actually let me go and use the
bathroom, or change him.”
Many people experiencing homelessness
must rely on the generosity of business
operators for use of a toilet, or come up
with the money to purchase something to
justify use of facilities labeled “for
customers only.”
McLaughlin believes the homeless are
not the only ones in need of public toilets.
For example, she notices that many people
get their lunch from food trucks, which don’t
offer restrooms.
PFFC adoptedthe public toilet caiise
after Gary Minter, a vendor for the
Washington street paper Street Sense,
brought the issue to the table at the group’s
routine “call for concerns.”
“Mine is more a women’s issue,” Janet
Sharp, another committee leader, explained.
“Pregnant women, homeless women during
their menstrual cycle, people further up in
age, like me, when your bladder doesn’t hold
like it used to, tourists...”
Destination DC, a nonprofit marketing
Washington, D.C., as a tourist destination,
believes most tourists’ needs are met during
the day by the facilities in the museums and
around the monuments oh the National
Mall.
Media Relations Manager Kate Gibbs
understands that some tourists may have
special needs — such as families with young
children. She said the group believes in
“championing whatever infrastructure can
help visitors find Washington and spend an
enjoyable holiday here.”
PFFC launched a feasibility study late last
year to determine the project’s practicality.
That’s when it discovered the Portland Loo,
individual private toilets in public areas
throughout downtown Portland.
The first Portland Loo was installed
December 2008 after a three-year
comhiunity campaign led by Public Hygierie
Lets Us Stay Human, or PHLUSH.
When PHLUSH began shopping the idea
around, an early design was to construct the
unit from plastic material resembling
playground equipment, for reasons of
affordability. An architect recommended the
design be upscaled for city streets. The
resulting product, made entirely from
stainless steel, sells for for $90,000.
The city of Portland entered into a
manufacturing agreement with Portland-
based Madden Fabrication, with a plan to
sell the copyrighted design directly.
However, the Loo business didn’t work well
as a public entity, and Madden Fabrication
ended up taking ownership mid-2014,
maintaining a royalty agreement with city
government.
There are seven Loo modules in Portland.
The first to be installed out-of-state went to
Victoria, B.C., in 2011. It was voted
“Canada’s best restroom,” an annual contest
sponsored by Cintas, the very next year.
Installation has since been completed in
California, Alaska and other parts of British
Columbia. Seattle, Cambridge, Mass., Salt
Lake City and Cincinnati have placed orders.
“I’d love to see it just become a standard.
It really solves a lot of problems with cities
not having bathrooms. It makes the city
Sisters Of The Road
Miwwwwff
A Portland Loo
more walkable,” said Greg Madden,
president of Madden Fabrication.
The stainless steel is hard to dent and the
surface is treated with anti-graffiti coating.
Each Loo has a locked interior cabinet
containing a hose that maintenance workers
use to spray down the facility as needed.
The handwashing station is on the outside
of the facility, allowing one person to use
the toilet while another washes his of her
hands or fills a water bottle.
The Portland Loo is designed to meet
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
guidelines for accessibility. It is also large
enough to accommodate a full-size bicycle.
For nighttime use, the module is well-lit on
the outside. The outer lights dim and inner
lights engage when someone enters. These
features can be powered by a solar panel,
.
P .H C
a non-profit cafe in Old Town since 1979
Contributing research by Josue De Paz and
Laetitia Vidor, www.street-papers.org. Street
Sense, Washington, D.C.
5312 NE 148th Ave.
N
orthwest P ort . and OR Q7, , n
Beyond Lm&a/ions-
rORiaOO, UH 9/230
“This is a place where
we are connected,
and what is shared is
honored and celebrated.“
’^ -Siste rs Customer
All are welcome.
Monday * Friday 1Oam-2:3Opm
AC power hookup to the city’s grid or solar
with AC backup.
PFFC Director Robert Warren hopes to
raise enough money to send a few members
to see the Portland Loos firsthand.
“We want businesses to support us
because business owners are going to close
their business, and their restrooms, some
time for the night,” Warren said. “We’ll have
to look out, though, if we do get Portland
Loos put in, and make sure businesses don’t
start to make their own restrooms less
available.”
I B NW Sixth Ave.
Portland, OR 97209
.
-----
main: 503 222 5694
http://sistersoftheroad.org
Free career training for persons w ith disabilities
in janitorial and building maintenance
Requirements: •
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