Outside of the Metroparks, there are no public restrooms in the city of Cleveland.
A donation from a community development corporation will soon change that, bringing three single-unit bathrooms Downtown.
"This is really a concerted effort to make all of our public spaces accommodate people and make them be public spaces where you can spend a long period of time with your children, with elderly folks, and really just to make our public space accessible to the human needs that we all have," said Abby Henry, the manager of strategic projects in the mayor's office.
The freestanding, handicap-accessible facilities, called Portland Loos, are made of stainless steel to deter graffitists and equipped with blue light to prevent drug usage. Council President Blaine Griffin urged the Public Works department to also equip the bathrooms with Narcan, which treats narcotic overdoses.
The donation comes from Campus District Inc., a community development corporation focused on Downtown Cleveland and surrounding neighborhoods. Each toilet costs about $150,000.
One is planned in Perk Plaza at the intersection of East 12th Street and Chester Avenue and two others at Canal Basin Park near West 10th Street and West Superior Avenue in the Flats.
Maintenance will cost about $1,600 per month per structure. Henry said that is less than it costs to maintain a portable toilet.
