Portland Toilet Locator

October 28, 2012
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Downtown Portland restrooms are available to the general public at thirteen locations.  These include Portland Loos, Parks facilities, and restrooms in public buildings.  A unique  “public restroom” is privately owned and operated by the Portland Rescue Mission. A restroom complex that serves the Portland Saturday Market  on weekends consists of a two large portable units west of 1st Avenue as well as portapotties east of it.

Portland Loos

Portland Loos are found on sidewalks and parks at six locations. All are open  24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

  • SW Naito Parkway at SW Taylor Street
  • SW Naito Parkway at SW Ash Street
  • NW Glisan Street, between NW 5th and 6th Avenues (near the Greyhound Bus Station)
  • NW Johnson and 11th Avenue at Jamison Square
  • NW Couch Street and 8th Street on the edge of the children’s playground.
  • 6 SW Columbia Street and Park Avenue (park blocks).

A seventh Loo will be installed in Fields Park on NW Marshall Street in the Pearl District.

The City of Portland holds the patent on the locally designed and built Portland Loo.   The program is currently managed by the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services.  Round the clock maintenance is provided by Downtown Portland Clean and Safe.    Call 503.224.7383 if you find a Loo needs cleaning.

Portland Parks and Recreation Facilities

Most downtown parks have public restrooms.

  • Waterfront Park – Hawthorne Bridgehead  Under the north stairs leading to bridge. 5am–midnight.
  • RiverPlace/South Waterfront Gardens On SW River Drive just south of the marina. 8am–midnight.
  • Director Park SW Taylor at SW 9th. Requires key from Park Host. Hours vary seasonally. Winter hours are noon-6pm
  • Couch Park  NW Glisan and NW Couch.  7am–11pm.
  • Chapman Square  Woman’s restroom. SW Madison between SW 4th and SW 3rd. 8am-midnight.
  • Lownsdale Square  Men’s restroom on SW Salmon between SW 4th and SW 3rd. 8:30am-midnight.
  • Ira Keller Fountain  SW Clay between SW 3rd and 4th opposite the fountain. 8am–midnight.
  • The Fields Park  NW Overton at NW 10th Ave.  5am-midnight.

These restrooms are opened by the cleaning staff, so the opening times of 8 am to midnight may vary slightly, based on condition and need for cleaning of these and other restrooms on their morning route.

Restrooms in Public Buildings

  • Old Town Smart Park Garage NW Davis between NW First and Naito Parkway Open Mon-Thurs 7am-midnight; Fri-Sat 7am-3am; Sun 9am-10pm except Sundays in Jan & Feb.
  • Union Station  NW 6th and NW Irving.
  • Bud Clark Commons Day Center 650 NW Irving Street. Open Monday-Friday, 7am-7pm; Saturday-Sunday, 8am-4pm.
  • Portland Rescue Mission  111 W Burnside.  This privately operated toilet is open 24/7 with brief closures for cleaning.
  • Pioneer Courthouse Square Visitors Center   West side of  square. Open 8:30am – 5:30 pm.
  • Portland City Hall  1221 SW 4th Ave Open 6am – 6:00pm.
  • Portland Building 1120 SW 5th Ave. Open 5:30am – 6:30pm.
  • Smart Park Garage on SW Clay between SW 3rd and 4th opposite Ira Keller Fountain.
  • Portland State University  Smith Memorial Student Union at 1825 SW Broadway and all other buildings during opening hours.

Gender Neutral Restrooms

Unisex toilet rooms are specified in the PHLUSH Public Restroom Design Principles.  Gender-neutral restrooms eliminate the semi-public space between the the stall and public areas where bullying and harassment may occur.   Direct access from a public space into the restroom does not put transsexual people or those “transitioning” into danger.   Portland Loos are gender-neutral and safe.   Portland State University has a number of gender neutral facilities, including on the Mezzanine of Smith Memorial Union.  See map below.

More on Finding a Public Restroom

Bicycle rack-signs Historic Comfort Stations in Chapman and Lownsdale  Parks feature not only the familiar ADA compliant blue and white signs, but are identified by purpose-designed blue bicycle racks.

Window Signs  Found in the windows of many Portland Old Town Chinatown businesses are distinctive blue and white signs with public toilet locations and opening hours.  In addition, the Neighborhood Association in the district has distributed toilet locator post cards.  Signs and postcards resulted from a modest project called  Telling Portland Visitors Where to Go.

Sit or Squat  Sit or Squat has developed a global applications for iPhone and Android.  The online locator system  invites users to upload restroom photo and enter data on location, features, opening hours, and numbers to call if maintenance is required. The application mixes privately-owned facilities in businesses with government owned and operated restrooms and does not clearly distinguish the later.

Restroom Mapping   In 2011, PSU geography student Chris Smitherman created a clickable GPS map of downtown restrooms.  Noah Sager is working on a  comprehensive map of tax-supported and business toilets that are available to the public in Chicago.   Australia’s National Public Toilet Map is a nationwide map of true public toilets, ie publicly owned toilets at parks, nature reserves, railway stations and highway rest stops.  Includes for each facility opening hours, features, GPS coordinates, and contact information for local government agency responsible.    Toilet finder with features, lists all toilets along a walking or driving route, a personalized trip save feature.   The Map is a project of the national Continence Management Strategy of the Austraian Government’s Department of Health and Ageing.

 

Our Mission Through education and advocacy, PHLUSH helps local governments and citizen groups to provide equitable public restroom availability and to prepare for a pipe-breaking seismic event with appropriate ecological toilet systems.

Our Vision Toilet availability is a human right and well-designed sanitation systems restore health to our cities, our waters and our soils.

Public Hygiene Lets Us Stay Human (PHLUSH) was founded in Portland, Oregon and today collaborates with groups across North America.

PHLUSH is a member of the World Toilet Organization and a partner in the Sustainable Sanitation Alliance.

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