[jerrysievert]

not sure where "one" came from, there are many of them around portland, concentrated in problem areas. there is typically poop and needles around the toilets (which also have sharps containers that are emptied regularly), and neighboring businesses still get hit fairly heavily.

anecdote time: i had one a block from where i was living, and a block from a grocery store - while checking out, a very desperate person charged up complaining that the grocery store bathroom had been locked for too long. trying to be helpful, I mention the portland loo a block away only to be yelled at by the complainant. it was then that i figured out that the desire for the restroom wasn't for bodily waste elimination (portland loo's have a timer to stop drug use and prostitution in them).

as an aside, the portland loo's are some of the cleanest and best maintained public restrooms i've used - when given the choice between a "standard" restroom and a portland loo, such as on the waterfront, i choose the loo.

[jakevn]

I got the number from the website you linked.

However, using Google Maps, I found 4. I'm not sure how many bathrooms you'd normally allocate per person, but I imagine the number of homeless and those out and about would necessitate more than that. How many bathrooms per person are in the typical office building? Should the number of these loos not similarly match the homeless population?

Also, how is a timer in a bathroom at all dignified? If I need 15 minutes to relieve myself, will the Portland Loo kick me out?

[jerrysievert]

the portland loo website linked reports that there are 18 in portland, so still not sure where you got the number one from (see faq at https://portlandloo.com/faq/), and a quick search on google maps shows more (simply entering "portland loo" on maps.google.com shows a lot more than 4). most of them are concentrated where homeless are, as well as homeless services (that, you know, have restrooms as well).

i'm not sure how long the timer is, maybe you can try one and let us know?

my point was that even when restrooms are provided, there are still large problems with defecation. my favorite instances were people pooping on the building housing the (open and available) restrooms, instead of entering the building in a small 1/4 block park - the whole park is now fenced off (there is a Portland Loo one block away, not to mention the bathrooms in the building that was being defecated on - now those restrooms are closed for all).

editing to add that a previous reply also talked about being able to choose between other public restrooms and the portland loo, so not sure why you would think there are no restrooms available.

[jakevn]

I got the numbers from here: https://portlandloo.com/loo-locator/

I'd argue enough restrooms are provided when the number is population appropriate and within a one block distance.

I also didn't say that restrooms aren't provided, but it seemed like it wasn't obvious to everyone why inconvenience or lack of dignity leads to non-use.

[jerrysievert]

> I'd argue enough restrooms are provided when the number is population appropriate and within a one block distance.

the part of this discussion that i have taken part in has been around portland, where blocks are very small, but as noted before even where there are restrooms at more than one per block, there was pooping on the building instead of entering the building - so i'm not sure what would be a "proper" number of bathrooms at that point. at some point, you need to start looking at what other problems can be and look at other ways to solve the problem.

and no, i don't have that solution.