Berkeley to put in 24-hour public toilet at Telegraph and Channing — value a quarter-million {dollars}

A public restroom along Park Avenue on Wednesday, April 26, 2023 in Emeryville, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)

Everyone poops. It’s the title of a children’s book and a fact of life. But a lack of public-access bathrooms in the Bay Area — and across the US — often forces people to either pay at a local business, sneak into restricted areas, explore a secluded corner, or just stay home.

For a quarter of a million dollars, Berkeley is one step closer to helping its residents, visitors and workers.

The city will soon install its first 24-hour public toilet, called the Portland Loo, on Telegraph Avenue and Channing Way. This week, the Berkeley City Council approved a $262,666 contract with GradeTech Inc. to install the toilet in the dense residential and commercial corridor just blocks from UC Berkeley and People’s Park.

The results of a 2018 study of Berkeley’s toilets — conducted by Hyphae Design Laboratory, a local expert in public sanitation and ecological design — showed that Telegraph was one of the areas where public sanitation was most needed.

The citywide study, completed in 2020, reported that Berkeley owned and managed public restrooms in 46 locations — spread across recreation centers, parking garages, athletic fields, schools and the marina. However, an online poll found that 82% of locals would use public toilets more often if they were better cleaned and maintained, while 63% would like access to a sink and soap.

A pedestrian walks past a public restroom along Park Avenue in Emeryville, Calif. on Wednesday, April 26, 2023 (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)

If the Portland Loo is a success at the Telegraph and Channing, it will act as a pilot for future public toilet locations across Berkeley. Possible locations include the intersections of San Pablo Avenue and University Avenue, as well as Alcatraz Avenue and Adeline Street, according to a presentation from the 2022 community meeting.

With the upcoming 24-hour latrine being installed in the coming months, it will be only the second such location in the East Bay; Emeryville approved its Portland Loo during the construction of the city’s Joseph Emery Skatepark circa 2015 for $99,000, and an additional $41,000 was needed for installation.

These standalone restrooms are also located in Davis, Monterey, Sacramento, Salinas, San Diego, and Santa Rosa.

While both the US and California have declared access to sanitation a basic human right, according to a study by the National Coalition for the Homeless, 65% of homeless people have been denied access to a toilet in private businesses. But these efforts will also help others the American Restroom Association classifies as “toilet-challenged,” including pregnant women, young children, and seniors.

“As homelessness continues to rise in Berkeley and throughout the Bay Area, cities must take steps to protect the human dignity of their homeless people,” Robinson wrote in 2019. “Additionally, public restrooms serve as a boost to tourism and foot traffic. People are more likely to cycle, walk, and explore a public space if they know a toilet is available.”

These pre-engineered, self-contained, stainless steel structures provide users with a single ADA-compliant booth with a separate, pedal-powered hand washing station, water and sewer hookups, LED lights for drug use prevention, and a solar-powered battery.

That project has been a long time coming for Council Member Rigel Robinson, who in October 2019 first applied for $100,000 to research a free-standing public toilet facility and an additional $93,000 in outside funding from the UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Office and the developer of a nearby student residence building he concluded.

Speaking for the district, he said Tuesday’s vote was a turning point for nearby small business owners, students, homeless neighbors and visitors.

“I think having bathroom access at all times is an essential component of a livable, equitable city and a thriving business district,” Robinson said in an interview, adding that discussions are brewing about adding art to the exterior walls of the Portland Loo. “This is an urgent need and I am very pleased that after years of discussions and technical delays – due to operational restrictions in the utility roads – this project will soon be tackled and completed.”

According to the Public Toilet Index in 2021, there are on average only eight public toilets per 100,000 residents. In particular, Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose were among the top 10 cities in the country for toilets per capita.

But as one UC Berkeley student pointed out four years ago, the Telegraph neighborhood isn’t doing so well: “We offer 12 different types of boba tea, but you won’t find a public restroom if you’re here after dark.” “

The city will only be on the hook for effectively 1% of the Portland Loo’s acquisition cost, as $260,000 comes from a 2021 settlement with UC Berkeley, which has agreed to pay the city $4.1 million annually to pay for the use of city services by their students. The remaining $2,666 will be taken from T1 bond action funds voters approved in 2016 for city infrastructure and facility improvements. Other base bids to complete the contract were $440,000 and $538,000, according to city records.

In addition, the Public Works Department is currently compiling a maintenance funding application to be provided by the Telegraph Business Improvement District. While Portland Loos are designed to be difficult to deface and easy to clean, existing structures are still prone to some plumbing, graffiti, and spatter issues — much like most accessible public bathrooms.

Berkeley’s six-figure financial commitment is comparable to public latrines across the country. Remarkably, that price tag isn’t as ridiculous as the controversial $1.7 million single-seat toilet proposed in San Francisco. Extensive backlogs and red tape at City Hall were blamed in part for the crappy financial plan, which led Gov. Gavin Newsom to keep federal funding for the project on budget until the city “comes up with a plan to use those public funds more efficiently.”