Baltimore Considers Public Restroom Project

The city is starting to develop a plan for adding more public restrooms downtown, where available bathrooms are scarce and historic buildings are being damaged by public urination.

1 minute read

December 5, 2023, 7:00 AM PST

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Outdoor public restrooms with two silver doors and icons for men, women, wheelchair accessibility, and baby changing above doors.

msnobody / Adobe Stock

Baltimore city officials announced an effort to install public restrooms in the city’s downtown as part of an effort to provide more access to bathrooms and preserve historic buildings, many of which are slowly being damaged by urine. Public bathrooms can be a crucial lifeline for unhoused people, as well as a major convenience for anyone walking around a city.

As Brenna Smith explains in The Baltimore Banner, “The city’s lack of public restrooms is almost as historic as its buildings. Despite the homeless community asking for decades, the city resisted erecting more until recently.” Homeless advocates say the lack of public restrooms poses health risks and increases risk for unhoused people who have to find isolated places to go. “There are well-documented medical consequences to holding urine for too long. The National Institute of Health found it increased the likelihood of bladder infections, and according to Harvard Medical School, it can even make it harder to relieve yourself over time,” Smith points out.

The city is looking to Portland, Oregon for an example of a durable, safe public restroom design dubbed the Portland Loo, but a final budget, design, and locations, have not been selected.

Monday, November 27, 2023 in The Baltimore Banner

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