FINALLY, Washington DC has 5 (soon to be 6) new clean, safe public restrooms!!!

Since 2014 (nearly 10 years ago), several of us have eaten, slept, and breathed to ensure that clean, safe public restrooms become available for EVERYONE?in needed areas of Washington DC.?

It is embarrassing, and a risk to personal and public?health, that unlike many capitals and large cities in Europe and Asia where access to public restrooms is a given in urban and ?commercial?areas, that in DC clean, safe public restrooms are few and far between.

Our research and advocacy inspired the introduction of a Bill in 2017 that became Law in 2019 which provided funding for two public restroom pilots. Between 2019 and 2023 we worked hard to assist in ensuring that the two pilots went into?effect. However, for different reasons, and to?our immense consternation and disappointment, both came to an abrupt end in?May of 2023.?

Three key factors account for the demise of these pilots: lack of priority on the part of DC's Mayor (leadership support is KEY), DC's bureaucracy, and COVID.

Thanks to DC Councilmember Brianne Nadeau, who has supported this effort from close to the get go (starting by introducing Bill 22-0223, Public Restrooms Facilities Installation and Promotion Act , inspired and informed by our research, became Law 22-0280 with the same name in 2019).

With the demise of funding for the two pilots provided for under this Law in May 2023, Councilmember Nadeau found funds in the DC Department of Public Works budget to finance the standalone public restroom pilot. A contract was signed with ThroneLabs (www.thronelabs.co) in January 2024. As of early June 2024 Washington DC now has 5 clean, safe standalone public restrooms with one more on the way.? This pilot is funded through the end of September 2025.

Hopefully, with hard data showing the benefits ?the Mayor and other city leaders will see to it that this pilot becomes an ongoing program complete with the expansion to other sites.

You can learn more about our advocacy/research over the past 10 years, with a focus on lessons learned for others advocating for clean, safe public restrooms; the current pilot; and public restrooms initiatives in other cities in the US by going to our website: www.dcpublicrestrooms.org

Below a tweet from Councilmember Nadeau giving a shout out to our group of advocates (we call ourselves the "Loo Committee").