Seattle's public toilet do-over

Mary Bruno

Mary Bruno Jun 27, 2025

Feb 6, 2018

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                <h1>Seattle's public toilet do-over</h1>
                <h2><p>The last time city officials tried installing public restrooms around town things, it was a $5 million mistake. The much ballyhooed, self-cleaning toilets became magnets for naughtiness. Undeterred, Seattle is at it again. The city, reports The Seattle Times, has set aside $230,000 for one "stand-alone" Portland</p></h2>
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               <p>By <a href="/author/mary-bruno-crosscut-com/">Mary Bruno</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Feb 6, 2018</time></p>
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            <figure class="kg-card kg-image-card"><img src="https://dev.cascadepbs.org/content/images/sites/default/files/images/article/gallery/portlandloo.jpg" class="kg-image" alt="PortlandLoo" loading="lazy" width="300" height="170"></figure><p>The last time city officials tried installing public restrooms around town things, it was a $5 million mistake. The much ballyhooed, self-cleaning toilets became magnets for naughtiness. Undeterred, Seattle is at it again. The city, reports <a href="http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/after-earlier-embarrassment-seattle-resumes-public-toilet-quest/?ref=dev.cascadepbs.org"><em>The Seattle Times</em></a>, has set aside $230,000 for one "stand-alone" Portland Loo in Pioneer Square, where hordes of tourists, sports fans and homeless people have no where to go. "Our goal is to make this happen ASAP,” Gary Johnson, who coordinates the Seattle Department of Planning and Development’s center-city strategy, told the <em>Times</em>. ASAP = end of this year.</p>
          </article>

The last time city officials tried installing public restrooms around town things, it was a $5 million mistake. The much ballyhooed, self-cleaning toilets became magnets for naughtiness. Undeterred, Seattle is at it again. The city, reports The Seattle Times, has set aside $230,000 for one "stand-alone" Portland Loo in Pioneer Square, where hordes of tourists, sports fans and homeless people have no where to go. "Our goal is to make this happen ASAP,” Gary Johnson, who coordinates the Seattle Department of Planning and Development’s center-city strategy, told the Times. ASAP = end of this year.

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By Mary Bruno

Mary was Crosscut's Editor-in-Chief and Interim Publisher. In more than 25 years as a journalist, she has worked as a writer, editor and editorial director for a variety of print and web publications,