Opening Public Bathrooms In Worcester Backed By Business Group

WORCESTER, MA — It's simple: if you gotta go, you gotta go. Even if there isn't a restroom available.

Worcester City Councilors at Tuesday's meeting asked city leaders to explore ways to increase public restroom options in the downtown area after several reliable bathrooms closed in the pandemic. The effort is backed by a key business group because people are using doorways and other outdoor spaces as a substitute, creating a health hazard.

At-Large Councilor Gary Rosen asked City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. to explore ways to possibly bring mobile or other outdoor toilets and handwashing stations into the downtown area. In a separate proposal, At-Large Councilor Morris Bergman asked to find a way to have "strategically located fast food establishments" open for that business.

"It's easy for us, but if you're homeless, unsheltered, you don't have those places to go," Rosen said.

Downtown Worcester Business Improvement District (DWBID) Director Evelyn Darling attended the meeting to express support for a solution. DWBID operates a "clean team" in the downtown area, and those workers "often have the extreme unpleasant task of cleaning up the mess," Darling said.

Two key public restrooms downtown at the main library and on the first floor of City Hall have been closed due to increased coronavirus cases. Some restaurants have also closed or reduced hours.

Augustus did say the bathroom at Union Station is open, plus facilities at St. John's food pantry and the Salvation Army. He said businesses have been resistant to port-a-potties, fearing they will become a magnet.

"Like everything else we do with the homeless ... the siting of it becomes a very big challenge," he said.

Rosen pointed to examples used in other cities to accommodate the homeless, or just anyone who needs to go. Portland, Ore., placed about 100 portable toilets across the city in the fall to help people who need a bathroom break. That city was also the birthplace of the Portland Loo, a public toilet designed to be safe and easy to clean. Cambridge installed one in 2018.

Apart from the convenience, At-Large Councilor Khrystian King said public restrooms are a civil rights issue. Forcing people to relieve themselves in public puts them at risk of being arrested, effectively criminalizing homelessness.

"I'm hoping we have some movement on this, no pun in tended," King said.