[Massplanners] A poo problem

[roberta cameron]

I'm a member of a church located in Harvard Square which used to allow
public use of its bathrooms but had to end this practice due to the
frequency and severity of public safety incidents occurring on the
premises, including drug use, overdoses, and assaults. Due to this
situation, the churches surrounding Cambridge Common advocated for the City
to install the first public toilet there.

I don't believe that any amount of maintenance and insurance could
compensate businesses or institutions for the responsibility of opening
their bathrooms for use by the homeless population, short of having a
full-time social-worker assigned to the site. A free-standing City-owned
public toilet is a much safer and sustainable solution.

*Roberta Cameron, AICP*

*Community Preservation Act Manager*

Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development

City of Somerville

rcameron at somervillema.gov <lmorton at somervillema.gov>

On Tue, Sep 27, 2022 at 8:57 AM Ezra Haber Glenn via MassPlanners <
massplanners at masscptc.org> wrote:

> I've seen (and used) the Portland Loo around Boston and Cambridge, and it
> seems to be a great solution. Not sure about the cost, though.
>
> I've also wondered whether it might be possible to work with local
> restaurants and other businesses to encourage them (or incentivize/require
> them, though permitting?) to provide accessible bathrooms, in exchange for
> a city-run maintenance and insurance program: if they agree to make the
> bathrooms open, you'd agree to have an on-call janitor/plumber to
> immediately respond to any problem created.
>
> Just some thoughts — good luck, hope all is well.
>
> Ezra
> --
> Ezra Haber Glenn, AICP
> Department of Urban Studies and Planning
> Massachusetts Institute of Technology
> 77 Massachusetts Ave., Room 7-346
> Cambridge, MA 02139
> eglenn at mit.edu
> 617.721.7131 (c)
>
>  - on the web:
>    http://dusp.mit.edu/people/ezra-glenn
> <http://dusp.mit.edu/peopl/ezra-glenn>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* MassPlanners <massplanners-bounces at masscptc.org> on behalf of Rob
> May via MassPlanners <massplanners at masscptc.org>
> *Sent:* Tuesday, September 27, 2022 8:38:26 AM
> *To:* Listserv (massplanners at masscptc.org) <massplanners at masscptc.org>
> *Subject:* [Massplanners] A poo problem
>
> A number of usual and convenient locations where the unhoused have been
> able to use public restrooms have closed or limited their access.
>
> This has resulted in a marked increase in public defecation.
>
> Short of housing the unhoused, what are other communities doing to address
> this issue?
>
> We are currently looking at permanently installed, single occupant toilets
> by Portland Loo  (https://portlandloo.com/).
>
> I would like to hear your thoughts on this and other solutions.
>
> Rob
>
> Rob May, CEcD
> Director of Planning and Economic Development
> City of Brockton
> 45 School Street
> Brockton, MA 02301
> 508-580-7113
> rmay at cobma.us
> He/Him/His
>
> --
> MassPlanners mailing list
> MassPlanners at masscptc.org
> http://masscptc.org/mailman/listinfo/massplanners_masscptc.org
>
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