Gotta go? Check out downtown Austin’s new portable restroom
Downtown visitors, runners, bargoers and homeless people will now have somewhere to, uh, go.
Austin has installed its first temporary public restroom downtown, at the northeast corner of Interstate 35 and Sixth Street, as part of a pilot program to help officials determine whether permanent facilities are needed.
The portable restroom looks more like a small trailer than the typical portable toilet stalls brought in for festivals. It will be at this location for a month, then will be rotated among four other spots for a month at each site.
“This is a very important amenity to have downtown, and I hope it’s just the first of many public restrooms downtown for visitors and others,” Council Member Kathie Tovo said Thursday, thanking city staffers for launching the effort.
The council voted for this pilot project back in June 2016, with Tovo calling the issue of homeless people and sometimes late-night bar patrons relieving themselves on the streets a public health concern and a “matter of human dignity.” She noted at the time the problem was affecting the water quality of the creeks and the overall downtown experience.
Funding for the project comes from the city’s transportation fund and hotel taxes. The other locations that will get the temporary restroom in future months are: Brazos Street (between Fifth and Sixth streets) Neches Street (between Sixth and Seventh streets) West Fifth and Colorado streets East Seventh and Neches streets The restroom at Sixth and I-35 will be open around the clock for the first week. Then city staffers, in conjunction with the Downtown Austin Alliance, will determine based on demand whether to close the restroom from midnight to 6 a.m. The alliance will clean and restock the unit.