Public Toilet
ABOUT THE PROJECT
1,970
Votes in Support
520+
Petition Signatures
10
Years Committed to Goal
Voting for Public Toilet at Streetfair
Check out the public support for a public toilet in the U District from the 2023 U District Streetfair.
Where would you go?
Public restroom facilities were not incorporated into the U District light rail station but there remains an urgent need for public access to restroom facilities, so our community has advocated for the placement of a public toilet within one block of the station because:
- Our ability to respond to a universal biological need is a basic human right.
- Public toilets enable us to be physically active and enjoy new experiences when we’re away from home.
- Public toilets help us get out of cars and onto our feet, our bicycles and mass transit.
Select Comments
Paige: "This is an urgent public health need for all people (housed and unhoused). Without sufficient public restrooms, we see unsanitary conditions resulting from folks relieving themselves outside."
William: "I'm disabled and have to travel through multiple counties. You can't expect people to use public transportation if you have no bathrooms."
Daniel: "People need to go the bathroom. Private businesses shouldn’t take the responsibility and a public bathroom is necessary."
Courtney: "Would love to see public restrooms available on the ave. Not only would it be beneficial for visitors for events and shopping. but it would also help eliminate inappropriate use of alley ways for bio-elimination."
Chandira: "My Mom is limited mobility, she can’t walk all over trying to find somewhere to go. Neither can I!!"
Anon: "I don't understand why this should still be a subject for debate. We need public toilets near heavily used public facilities."
Derek: "Everywhere else in the world has public toilets. Banning public amenities because the aristocracy hates the homeless is pointlessly cruel and solves nothing."
Peter: "Best it could be staffed. The city has a big problem with lack of public restrooms."
Reed: "Public restrooms are a vital part of our civic life, they provide all members of our community, regardless of wealth or privilege, the dignity of private space to do their private business."
Catherine: "I’d like to think the neighborhood will get more convenient, not less, as I get older."
Ref: "I help manage a meal program for those in need at Blessed Sacrament Church and can attest that people in the area need a public toilet. We offer a meal because no one should go hungry, we need a restroom as a human right."
Richard: "New restrooms should be cleaned at least daily. Tax us, as citizens we will pay for this if we have to."
1,970 Votes in Support
520+ Petition signers and counting...
Cory Crocker
Derek Dexheimer
Jeff Dobbins
Courtney Garinger
Chandira H
Josh
Jacob Moran
William Nelson
Sarah Neurath
Molly OHara
Walli Kay Osborn
Osh
Daniel Rother
Jennifer Schladweiler
Paul Shafer
Peter Steinbrueck
Sarah Vershon
Max Vumbaca
Plus 29 anonymous signers
Plus 29 anonymous signers
Plus 472 signatures on paper
In the Press
Seattle leaders don’t have much to say about city’s restroom problem
Published October 30, 2023 in The Seattle Times
By Daniel Beekman
Seattle leaders don’t have much to say about the inadequate supply of clean, safe and accessible public restrooms across the urban landscape.
Seattle leaders don’t have much to say about the inadequate supply of clean, safe and accessible public restrooms across the urban landscape.
Where to go when nature calls? Seattle has a public restroom problem
Published October 8, 2023 in The Seattle Times
By Daniel Beekman and Anna Patrick
Everyone benefits from clean, safe and abundant public restrooms, but Seattle has a crappy supply. Is there a plan to fix that?
Everyone benefits from clean, safe and abundant public restrooms, but Seattle has a crappy supply. Is there a plan to fix that?
Community Advocacy
How Many Times Must We Request This?
For nearly a decade, our U District community has prioritized this urgent need and demanded action:
Letter to the Mayor (again)
On January 20, 2025, the U District Community Council sent another letter to Mayor Harrell requesting him to provide a public restroom as temporary replacement during renovation of the University Branch Public Library, which begins on the 29th of January.
Letter to the Mayor (yet again)
On September 11, 2023, after the publication of the article in The Seattle Times, the U District Community Council sent another follow up letter to Mayor Harrell requesting him to allocate funding for this urgent public need:
Letter to the Mayor (again)
On March 8, 2023, the U District Community Council sent a follow up letter to Mayor Harrell requesting him to allocate funding for this urgent public need in the current year's budget:
Letter to the Council President
On December 14, 2022, the U District Community Council sent the following letter to Seattle City Council President, Debora Juarez, urging the City to allocate funding for this urgent public need:
Letter to the Mayor
On July 13, 2022, the U District Community Council met and drafted the following letter to Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, urging the City to allocate funding for this urgent public need:
U-Loo Final Report
On June 6, 2016, the U District community summarized months of outreach and advocacy into a final report, supporting the siting of a 'Portland Loo' in the heart of the neighborhood:
Call to Action
On October 20, 2015, a call to action was issued from the co-chair of the UDP Clean and Safe Committee, Ruedi Risler.
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed individuals can change the world. In fact, it's the only thing that ever has.
— Margaret Mead, Anthropologist
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