Politics & Government

New 'Eugene Loo' provides public access to restroom downtown

KLCC | By Melorie Begay

Published December 14, 2021 at 3:23 PM PST

The Eugene Loo was designed by the City of Portland which has their own public facility called the Portland Loo. The city of Eugene hopes the facility will help alleviate some of the responsibility from businesses to provide public restrooms.

The City of Eugene has opened a new public restroom downtown, Tuesday. The facility’s design was developed by the City of Portland and will be open 24/7.

The Eugene Loo is a single-stalled facility made of metal and graffiti resistant coating located in the southwest Park Block downtown. The facility was installed by Lease Crutcher Lewis.

It’s inclusive, wheelchair accessible, and has a sharps disposal box, with a handwashing station outside. City of Eugene Downtown Manager Eric Brown says he sees the project as being in a three to six month pilot phase.

“We’re already collecting data on how often it’s getting serviced, how much graffiti is taking place, if there are major incidents so we’re going to be collecting that data over the next three and learning whether this is a durable and sustainable solution that we can replicate in other parts of downtown,” he said.

The city said the Loo is made out of durable material making easier to maintain.

In total, the Eugene Loo cost $225,000, with the Loo itself being $106,000. The remaining costs come from site design and installation, according to city Communications and Engagement Manager Lindsay Selser.

The Loo will be maintained by city staff on weekdays, and by the downtown facilities crew on the weekends, Brown said.

“It’ll get cleaned at least twice a day on a rotating basis and if there are immediate needs we can send out a crew to clean it up,” Brown said. He adds restroom security will be onsite in the park blocks at night.

Councilor Emily Semple said publicly accessible restrooms have been a long time need for the downtown area, especially for people unable to use restrooms located inside businesses.

“It’s been a big equity issue, as well as a hygiene issue and public safety issue because people need a place to go and if we don’t have bathrooms they go in other places and that causes a lot of trouble on many levels for a lot of people,” Semple said.

Semple says she’s excited to see the new facility and applauded it’s “attractive” design. The restroom displays artwork by local artist Alayna Sibille of Lost Luck Design. The piece was selected from Eugene Cultural Services’ Urban Canvas roster.

Another Eugene Loo will be installed at the Riverfront Park.