Citing ongoing problems with drugs, prostitution, and other illegal
activities, the city council voted on Monday, May 19, to fast-track the
elimination of the city’s five automated public toilets, saving
$300,000 but raising an inevitable question: Where will people with
nowhere else to go, go?
The council thinks it has the answer. According to a March report by
Seattle Public Utilities (SPU), there are actually more than enough
restrooms to meet all possible demand, including from the
homeless—who, according to the report, “have plenty of
alternatives” in the central city. Indeed, the report identifies 77
“publicly accessible” restrooms in the area.
But are they truly open to the public? Not really. Of the 77, a
large number are owned by private businesses—businesses that
might not cotton to crowds of homeless people tromping through their
aisles and brushing up against the merchandise. (Or a horde of tourists
from Yakima, for that matter.) Among the private establishments on the
list: Elliott Bay Book Company, Macy’s, Barnes & Noble, and the
Seattle Art Museum. Once you factor these out, plus restrooms
that aren’t open at night, there remain a scant 20 truly accessible
restrooms in the entire central city.
That detail might have escaped you if you listened to council
members this week, when they were quick to describe the automated
public restrooms as a menace, not an amenity. It wouldn’t surprise
you, though, if you listened to what those same council members were
saying seven years ago, when most council members argued that the lack
of restrooms in Seattle was to blame for dirty alleys, reduced quality
of life, and diminished property values.
Nick Licata, who supported the toilets in 2001, said at the time
that they would “be beneficial to local businesses because
tourists, shoppers, residents, and the homeless are equally
accommodated.” On Monday, he voted to kill the toilet contract. Jean
Godden, then a columnist for the Seattle Times, wrote a column
in 2001 supporting the toilets, arguing, “It’s time to do… the humane
thing.” On Monday, she, too, voted to kill the program. At no point on
Monday did any council member express the kind of concern the council
did seven years ago for meeting the basic needs of Seattle’s least
advantaged residents. (SPU is trying to improve signage and negotiate
deals to open more restrooms to the public.)
Council members argued, and rightly so, that the automated,
single-stall toilets are magnets for prostitution, drugs, and other
illegal behaviors. What they didn’t mention is that pushing illegal
activities out of public restrooms doesn’t make them go away; it just
ensures that there will be one fewer option for the hundreds of
people who use the automated toilets legally every day. Don’t like
piss-covered Dumpsters and alleys strewn with human shit? Provide
people with alternatives. 