Philadelphians Choose Name For New Standalone Public Restrooms

PHILADELPHIA — The people have spoken: Philadelphia's new standalone public restrooms will be called "Philly Phlush."

After 8,366 total votes cast via the city's online survey, Twitter, and LinkedIn, "Phlush" won with 5,808 votes.

That's 69.4 percent of the votes.

The other names, Philly Loo and Philly Public Restroom, got 20.3 percent (1,705) and 10.2 percent (853), respectively.

Voting was open from June 23 to June 29.

The six public standalone restrooms in the pilot program will be labeled with the Philly-centric name in addition to recognizing the design firm behind the standalone structures – Madden Fabrication and the Portland Loo model.

The first public restroom in the pilot just opened in Fotterall Square in North Philadelphia in June and the second opened today at 15th and Arch Streets in Center City across from Love Park.

The third restroom to open will be in Clark Park in West Philadelphia, and three additional sites are yet to be selected.

These standalone restroom structures, first installed and tested in Portland, are known for being durable, easy to clean, and having crime prevention design features like graffiti-proof wall panels.

They are ADA accessible, and can fit a bicycle, a stroller, or two adults and a child.

The model has now been installed in over 20 cities.

The public restroom pilot is included in the Mayor’s Five-Year Plan with a budget of $656,864 annually.

This budget includes the three full-time staff that will service all the units in the pilot, supplies, equipment, installing more units over time, and $5,000 per unit per year for repairs.