The City of Santa Rosa on Monday announced the opening of a brand new, almost $268,000 sleekly designed public restroom in its downtown corridor.
Santa Rosa Councilman Jack Tibbetts unveiled the bathroom, known as the Portland Loo, while wielding a ceremonial golden plunger during a special opening celebration at its 94 Santa Rosa Ave. location.
The single occupant, modernly built bathroom will be open 24 hours a day and is designed for "safety, security and energy efficiency," city officials said in a press release. It costs the town a total of $267,795, which accounts for "the purchase and fabrication of the restroom, transportation, utility connections, site accessibility improvements, and installation."
The washroom was created by a company based in Portland, Oregon, whose cutting edge models are constructed "specifically to prevent problems that are commonly experienced with public toilets," according to their website.
For instance, the walls are built out of stainless steel which makes them difficult to vandalize and easy to clean. There are also openings on the bottom and top of the structure to create site lines and allow sounds to clearly carry out of it, features which will "help prevent crime while still providing privacy."
In addition, the restroom is solar powered and requires minimal utilities, dispensing just 1.28 gallons of water per flush.
There is also a baby-changing station on the exterior of the structure.
"Over the years, we have heard from residents about the need for more public restrooms in the downtown," Santa Rosa Mayor Chris Rogers said. "Community members will be relieved to see the installation of the Portland Loo finally complete."
Local business owners told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat they hope the new lavatory will alleviate both people needing to use their private restrooms, and people relieving themselves on the streets.
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