TheWriter
08-28-2005, 03:54 AM
Budget proposal seeks public toilets
Web Posted: 08/28/2005 12:00 AM CDT
Laura Jesse
Express-News Staff Writer
If the City Council follows through on a $1 million proposal to build public restrooms in the downtown area, homeless people, tourists and other visitors won't be the only ones getting relief.
Public Works Director Tom Wendorf said police bike patrol officers, park police and Centro San Antonio Amigos are asked up to 300 times a day for directions to the nearest restroom.
Such facilities are rare in the downtown area, and the need for more was identified as a year-one priority in the 10-year plan to curb chronic homelessness and hunger developed by Councilwoman Patti Radle and former Councilman Julián Castro.
"I found it embarrassing to see a story on (television) that showed all the storefronts with 'No public restrooms' signs," Radle said Thursday at a council committee meeting.
She said the struggle to get public restrooms in the central business district dates to at least the 1980s. If the council approves the $1 million proposal in the 2006 budget, life will be easier for downtown visitors, as well as the police officers and Centro Amigos who'll be able to tell them where to go.
The money would fund two "comfort stations" and a visitor center with public restrooms.
Radle and Councilman Roger O. Flores have initiated two separate six-signature memos to address the need for public restrooms, which were considered by the Quality of Life Committee.
Flores' memo calls for $190,000 left over from the Tri-Party Project, a 1980s initiative to improve infrastructure in the downtown area, to pay for the design of the visitor center. It would be located under the Riverbend Garage at Presa and Commerce streets. Wendorf said the estimated $500,000 needed to construct the center would come from certificates of obligation.
The facility would have seven to 10 restroom stalls and one unisex, handicap accessible unit. A Centro Amigo would staff the center during the day and a security guard would be on duty at night to ensure 24-hour access.
The second memo circulated by Radle and Flores calls for city staff to accelerate the process of acquiring two so-called comfort stations, which would be funded with $500,000 from the Advanced Transportation District approved by voters last November.
The comfort stations would feature self-cleaning restrooms with exterior drinking fountains. The proposed sites are the International Center on St. Mary's Street, and on Commerce Street between Soledad and St. Mary's.
"The big challenge is the initial cost," Wendorf said of the self-cleaning restrooms.
Some council members balked at the estimated price of $250,000 for each comfort station, but Wendorf pointed out that the cost includes delivery and installation. Extra staff would not be needed since the facilities are self-cleaning, and they're virtually graffiti and vandal-proof.
In comparison, Wendorf said, it costs about $153,000 to build one traditional brick-and-tile restroom with two stalls that would withstand high traffic and another $160,000 in annual maintenance, including a cleaning staff and security.
"Think about it like this," he said, "if you had 300 people coming through your house every day, the cost of your house would go up."
As currently envisioned, the public restrooms would be accessed with free tokens. A timer activates when the door is closed, and when the time expires, the door opens and sensors determine the unit is empty so the sanitizing process can begin.
The cleaning cycle could be initiated after each use or every five uses. High-pressure water jets spray the interior, which is cleaned with disinfectants and dried with air blowers, Wendorf said.
Similar self-cleaning restrooms are being used in major cities in Europe and several U.S. cities, including Atlanta, Seattle, New York and Boston.
LINK (http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/citycouncil/stories/MYSA082805.1B.budget_toilet.385d9f6.html)
Web Posted: 08/28/2005 12:00 AM CDT
Laura Jesse
Express-News Staff Writer
If the City Council follows through on a $1 million proposal to build public restrooms in the downtown area, homeless people, tourists and other visitors won't be the only ones getting relief.
Public Works Director Tom Wendorf said police bike patrol officers, park police and Centro San Antonio Amigos are asked up to 300 times a day for directions to the nearest restroom.
Such facilities are rare in the downtown area, and the need for more was identified as a year-one priority in the 10-year plan to curb chronic homelessness and hunger developed by Councilwoman Patti Radle and former Councilman Julián Castro.
"I found it embarrassing to see a story on (television) that showed all the storefronts with 'No public restrooms' signs," Radle said Thursday at a council committee meeting.
She said the struggle to get public restrooms in the central business district dates to at least the 1980s. If the council approves the $1 million proposal in the 2006 budget, life will be easier for downtown visitors, as well as the police officers and Centro Amigos who'll be able to tell them where to go.
The money would fund two "comfort stations" and a visitor center with public restrooms.
Radle and Councilman Roger O. Flores have initiated two separate six-signature memos to address the need for public restrooms, which were considered by the Quality of Life Committee.
Flores' memo calls for $190,000 left over from the Tri-Party Project, a 1980s initiative to improve infrastructure in the downtown area, to pay for the design of the visitor center. It would be located under the Riverbend Garage at Presa and Commerce streets. Wendorf said the estimated $500,000 needed to construct the center would come from certificates of obligation.
The facility would have seven to 10 restroom stalls and one unisex, handicap accessible unit. A Centro Amigo would staff the center during the day and a security guard would be on duty at night to ensure 24-hour access.
The second memo circulated by Radle and Flores calls for city staff to accelerate the process of acquiring two so-called comfort stations, which would be funded with $500,000 from the Advanced Transportation District approved by voters last November.
The comfort stations would feature self-cleaning restrooms with exterior drinking fountains. The proposed sites are the International Center on St. Mary's Street, and on Commerce Street between Soledad and St. Mary's.
"The big challenge is the initial cost," Wendorf said of the self-cleaning restrooms.
Some council members balked at the estimated price of $250,000 for each comfort station, but Wendorf pointed out that the cost includes delivery and installation. Extra staff would not be needed since the facilities are self-cleaning, and they're virtually graffiti and vandal-proof.
In comparison, Wendorf said, it costs about $153,000 to build one traditional brick-and-tile restroom with two stalls that would withstand high traffic and another $160,000 in annual maintenance, including a cleaning staff and security.
"Think about it like this," he said, "if you had 300 people coming through your house every day, the cost of your house would go up."
As currently envisioned, the public restrooms would be accessed with free tokens. A timer activates when the door is closed, and when the time expires, the door opens and sensors determine the unit is empty so the sanitizing process can begin.
The cleaning cycle could be initiated after each use or every five uses. High-pressure water jets spray the interior, which is cleaned with disinfectants and dried with air blowers, Wendorf said.
Similar self-cleaning restrooms are being used in major cities in Europe and several U.S. cities, including Atlanta, Seattle, New York and Boston.
LINK (http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/citycouncil/stories/MYSA082805.1B.budget_toilet.385d9f6.html)