Portland Loo: Success where others have Failed
(http://photos.metrojacksonville.com/photos/1694974492_J3Njp5T-M.jpg)
Ever attempt to find a public restroom while visiting downtown Jacksonville for an extended period of time? You'll have better luck walking up to a leprechaun holding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. For Portland, Oregon, using public restrooms is not a matter of necessity, it's an act of civic pride. Portland is home to the Portland Loo, a 24-hour accessible outdoor restroom built to be usable but not too comfortable. As a city council taskforce searches for solutions to improve Hemming Plaza's environment, here is a look at a public amenity worth adding to downtown's public spaces.
Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2012-feb-portland-loo-success-where-others-have-failed
Public, Private, Partnership? I've got to go.
what r they doing for maintenance that cost a grand a month?
When I was in Pittsburgh, they had a really cool bathroom solution in the Southside. You pay a quarter and it lets you in and once you go to the bathroom and leave it washes all the walls. Not sure exactly how it worked, but people loved it. Pretty cool though
Been to those options in Amsterdam...fantastic.
Are there enough people walking the streets of Jacksonville to warrant this?
Quote from: JUGrad on February 02, 2012, 10:13:19 AM
Are there enough people walking the streets of Jacksonville to warrant this?
Maybe a lack of pedestrian infrastructure is a reason for no people? Ya think??
It is very fitting that "peestandingup" commented on this!
Quote from: Jameson on February 02, 2012, 10:49:26 AM
It is very fitting that "peestandingup" commented on this!
In prison, I was known as "peesittingdown". Don't ask. ;D
Quote from: JUGrad on February 02, 2012, 10:13:19 AM
Are there enough people walking the streets of Jacksonville to warrant this?
I don't think there's a need to place them on every street corner but there's more than enough foot traffic in specific locations like Hemming Plaza and the riverwalks.
It would be interesting to compare the costs of this solution to the capital and O&M costs of the bathrooms on the northbank riverwalk under the acosta bridge.
well the guy on the bike is stealing all the toilet paper
Tough to be a woman who "has to go" in Amsterdam. :-)
Boston has the pay-a-quarter public toilets as well (completely hygenic):
(http://blog.oyster.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/3454375086_292604fcc3_b.jpg)
Quote...with an annual maintenance fee of $12,000.
Well there goes ANY chance of Jacksonville ever embracing this idea.
I'm amused that every single picture shows gray, overcast skies.
Quote from: Ocklawaha on February 02, 2012, 10:03:26 PM
Quote...with an annual maintenance fee of $12,000.
Well there goes ANY chance of Jacksonville ever embracing this idea.
Well if we won't spend 1000 a month keeping it clean I don't want it.
Quote from: prahaboheme on February 02, 2012, 08:17:41 PM
Boston has the pay-a-quarter public toilets as well (completely hygenic):
(http://blog.oyster.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/3454375086_292604fcc3_b.jpg)
I like this one. The next you know Republicans will want it to turn a profit.
I believe that these comfort stations would help to make downtown a more attractive place to visitors. I also know that the inevitable complaints about how the homeless would ruin these comfort stations will pop up. I believe that our policy toward downtown viability needs to have more dimension than just figuring out ways to keep downtown as unattractive as possible...
The Loo is designed to be vagrant proof. I'm not sure about others that have been posted in this thread.
I know that, Lakelander, but you know that there will be those who would rather deny any decent amenities simply because of those few bad apples in town...
You're right, there will be those who take that position. However, the easiest way to move past this is to present facts that clearly discredit their position. Something like the Loo appears to have specifications that logically poke holes in the homeless/vagrant argument.
I hear that the dream of the 90's is alive in Portland.