[Massplanners] A poo problem

[Chris Hayes]

Hi, all,

This is actually related to a question I asked on this listserv a while ago!

Because of the expense of adding new restrooms, a public group is
advocating for opening up certain public garage restrooms (those visible
from the street), installing cameras and various safety devices, and
employing a full-time monitor through a workforce program. Apparently, this
is a hard sell for the City because of the fear that even if a freestanding
toilet were to be built, it would be unsafe and expensive to keep
clean/maintain. The question I had was about how common it was to have a
city host a nonprofit workforce program (we decided to model it on the
Operation Able program already operating.)

Notably, a few of our churches maintain restrooms and haven't had too many
problems as of yet, but they're all sorts of various special programs with
paid monitors or staff dedicated to cleaning multiple times a day.

-Chris

On Tue, Sep 27, 2022 at 11:13 AM roberta cameron via MassPlanners <
massplanners at masscptc.org> wrote:

> 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
>>
> --
> MassPlanners mailing list
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>


-- 
Christopher Glenn Hayes
Land Use and Transportation Planner
http://christopherglennhayes.wordpress.com
chris.g.hayes at gmail.com
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