Where Are Boston's Public Bathrooms? There's A Map For That

BOSTON, MA — When you gotta go, you gotta go. And as anyone who has a small child or any kind of GI problem knows, knowing where the bathroom is on your trip can make life much easier.

Now, Boston has an interactive map for that. You can filter by day of the week or whether it is handicap accessible, to find the nearest bathroom and what time it's open and available.

Did you know that on any given Wednesday there are 18 family public restrooms available across the city that are technically supposed to be open and usable? And 81 bathrooms that have a handicap accessible stall? Together there are 84 public bathrooms across the Hub on a Wednesday.

The bathrooms listed for public use include those at the fire stations and police departments, libraries and community centers as well as "city toilets."

The city also breaks it down by neighborhood. Chinatown and Mission Hill for example only have one public bathroom each (for Chinatown it's at the library and for Mission Hill it's BCYF TOBIN). Whereas Dorchester has a grand 13 restrooms open for public use. Also in the break down is whether the bathrooms are gender specific or unisex.

The interactive map of the public use bathrooms is all part of the Age-Friendly Boston initiative, which aims to make life better for Boston's elderly residents.

According to a 2010 census, 88,000 older adults resided in the City of Boston. Projections show that
by 2030, the number of older adults in Boston will grow considerably, making up about one fifth
of the city’s population.

File photo at top by Jenna Fisher/Patch