Please nominate comments by replying with “comment of the week” or “COTW” so I can more easily find them via search. Thank you.
We had another great week of comments. It makes me so extremely happy that after all these years we still have a solid comment section that is often just as illuminating — if not more so! — than the stories we share above them. When most media outlets gave up on comments, I doubled-down. And it has paid off. Nearly 600,000 comments later we have a platform where (almost) all perspectives can be shared, where we can learn from each other, and where respect is earned by the value of your ideas and how you choose to express them. Thank you.
With that, let’s get to the Comment of the Week.
We are making progress in bringing downtown Portland back, but we need to do more. And no matter what city leaders do, people won’t hang out downtown if there’s nowhere to relieve themselves. Yes I’m talking about public restroom! I hoped at least one candidate would run on a “more bathrooms downtown!” pledge, but it didn’t happen. This is a huge issue that we must address.
The topic came up in the comments of my story about a recent trip to the Pearl District where a nice bike parking area had been besmirched by human pee. Reader Beth H. had a response that deserves more attention. Read Beth’s comment below:
I was on the citizens advisory committee many years ago that helped to advocate for the Portland Loos. Far fewer than the suggested number (originally 25 to 30) were installed, due to the cost of construction and maintenance. Of the original units installed downtown, a couple were completely destroyed by vandalism (which in one case included toilets plugged with quick-dry cement) within the first two years of operation. Maintenance on the remaining units has been inconsistent, probably owning to a combination of budget cuts and the pandemic.
Before the pandemic, when my trips downtown were far more frequent, I tried to use the Portland Loos and about half the time they were inaccessible because someone was sleeping or doing drugs in them. I was warned more than once by whomever was inside “just go somewhere else, you’re not gonna get in here anytime soon.”
The last time I needed to use one downtown was in June during the Bike Summer kickoff party. The closest one was chained shut due to extensive vandalism damage, and I had to ride until I found a temporary porta-potty eight blocks away.
I volunteered to be on that advisory committee because, as someone with Crohn’s disease, I can’t always predict when I’ll need to find a restroom. I figured there might be others with similar needs. In the end, it hasn’t really mattered.
Today, I only go downtown if I absolutely must, and I take public transit. I’m older and slower now, and there’s no point in putting myself in harm’s way if I don’t have to. When a place — a street, a bike lane, or a public restroom — isn’t safe enough for the most vulnerable, then it’s not really safe.
I feel your pain Beth H.! This is a major issue that isn’t getting enough attention. Hopefully we can make progress soon, so that more folks can feel relaxed and relieved while spending time downtown. Thanks for all the great comments last week. And remember to please nominate good ones by replying to them with “comment of the week” or “COTW.”
Thanks for reading.
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***Hi Angus. I’ve deleted your comment because it’s so off-topic and is clearly another example of how you take every single post and bend it into your agenda. It’s not that I don’t want folks hearing your perspective, it’s that your incessant adherence to that same narrative pushes out other voices in a way that makes it less welcoming for other commenters. Please reconsider your approach in the future. Again, feel free to share your concerns, just find a different way to do it. Thanks. – Jonathan Maus***
The vandalism is a big problem, and I’m not sure on the solution. Considering that they are made to be more resilient (at great expense), I’ve seen some pretty shocking damage to our Portland Loos.
Just seems like another negative consequence of the unchecked mental illness we allow on our streets.
Thanks Beth for your work and another great comment. I’ve benefited from the loos and it’s a shame we didn’t have a better result from that investment.
I happen to know that the marginal value of bathroom access for me is at least $7.00 because I’ve spent that in a cafe more than once. I like a cafe as much as anybody but maybe I wouldn’t have gone there otherwise.
I haven’t tried to figure out why some public park restrooms are closed seasonally and some are not. I guess if there is some issue we just shut it down. I’ve traveled with people who frequently need a restroom and it’s a serious problem. The lack of public restrooms around Trimet stations and transfers is also a problem for a lot of people.
Maybe it’s time to realize that having all of our eggs in a Downtown above all else Basket is not a great way to run a City.
We need to stop propping up the rich downtown landowners and start planning for services to be, shudder, in the outlying areas (not downtown). Rental bikes should have been City wide, not just downtown. Potties should be everywhere, not just downtown. Benson Bubblers should have been all over, not just a few blocks downtown.
The list could go on and on.
Full disclosure, my work is in Old Town, and I avoid downtown at all costs as I find I can do and go just about anywhere I want, outside of downtown as crazy as that is.
When we plan for community bike rides, we actually map out where we know are clean easy-to-access free restrooms, both those at certain public parks and those at private businesses. This becomes particularly important when we (frequently) have older riders (which I’m one) who sometimes need to use restrooms more frequently. We also map out ice cream businesses, but then this is the subtropical Deep South.
On the other hand, I have met many female riders who have no qualms at all taking care of business behind a tree (as well as several male riders who insist on public restrooms.) I did meet an older rider, an African-American in his 70s with a really nice racing bike and cycling suit, who carried a small hard-plastic urinal with him, and discretely took pit stops as needed during longer rides – I’ve seen the plastic urinals at various drug stores – smaller versions than those used in hospitals.
And, yes, we too have a significant homeless problem in my community, with certain public restrooms and business restrooms more or less permanently occupied, and other places where the business or public agency frequently patrols restroom use (to put it bluntly).
I do remember using a French public loo that had a time limit on the door, you had to keep paying to keep it shut (it wasn’t in Paris).