Pittsburgh City Council approves $600,000 for 11 public restrooms

PITTSBURGH — You’ll soon find more public restrooms in City of Pittsburgh neighborhoods. On Tuesday, the City Council unanimously voted to team up with Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership and move forward with plans for 11 mobile bathrooms equipped with heat and water.

The council allocated COVID-19 relief money to pay for each unit, which, according to the Trib, will be found in various parts of the South Side, East Liberty, Downtown Pittsburgh, and the North Side. Allegheny Commons is one of the approved locations, where Channel 11 spoke with North Side residents.

“There’s a need, obviously, for public restrooms,” Lydia Lindsay said. “I think it’s really incumbent upon a city to provide those services, so the burden doesn’t fall on business owners.”

“A lot of the homeless people and the junkies go in there and do bad things, so if you put one in, that’s great, but you have to find a way to monitor people who go in and out of there,” Dorlacy McCoy said.

This comes after last year’s launch of two Pittsburgh Potties downtown, part of a temporary experiment to help clean up the area. When the Smithfield location closed, Channel 11 found mixed reaction, with critics reporting drug use and filthy conditions inside the restrooms.

“If they can monitor them a little better than they did before, then I think it would be a wonderful idea,” McCoy said.

The bathrooms can be accessed using a QR code, according to the Trib.

City officials say each unit will have technology that can tell if someone has been inside for a long time if they need help. They’re looking into the idea of permanent public bathrooms as part of the ARPA-funded rehabilitation of the Mellon Square storefronts with a feasibility study currently underway.

“Every person should have access to safe, clean restroom facilities. This $600,000 allocation is an important investment in public health, and in the quality of life of everyone who lives, works, and spends their free time in Downtown Pittsburgh,” said Councilmember Barbara Warwick, in a statement to Channel 11.

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