'Pittsburgh Potty' project adds public restrooms Downtown

Public restrooms are being added Downtown as part of what officials are calling the Pittsburgh Potty Initiative.

Mayor Ed Gainey and the nonprofit Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership on Friday announced the six-month pilot project to provide the temporary public bathrooms.

The first public bathroom opened early Friday afternoon at the Gateway Center T Station Plaza at Stanwix and Liberty avenues. The second one is scheduled to open next week at Smithfield Street and Strawberry Way, the partnership said.

The Gateway Center site has three restrooms, one of which is accessible for people with disabilities. The Smithfield Street site will have two restrooms.

“Amenities like public restrooms have often been overlooked,” said Jeremy Waldrup, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership.

He said such amenities are “essential” to making sure the city is clean and welcoming.

The bathrooms are equipped with running water, electricity, heating and cooling, according to the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership.

The bathrooms will be open daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. and will be cleaned, serviced and monitored regularly, officials said.

Mayor Ed Gainey said officials will keep track of how the restroom rollout goes and make adjustments as needed.

“We will continue to look at it and make the necessary improvements that we need to make Downtown as great as we want to see it,” he said.

Gainey said city leaders and the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership team overseeing the bathrooms will work to ensure they’re used only as bathrooms, and not as places to buy and sell drugs or commit other crimes.

“There will be security around here,” he said. “There will be maintenance around here to make sure the Pittsburgh potty is being taken care of.”

Waldrup said a team of Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership workers will ensure people aren’t in the bathrooms for abnormally long periods of time. They will check on people who are in the restrooms longer than normal, he said, and can open the doors if needed. The team is trained in first aid and administering the overdose-reversal drug Narcan.

There is a container for people to dispose of needles in the bathroom.

The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership and city officials have said they are working to find more permanent public bathroom options.

The partnership also launched a new webpage with details on the initiative and a directory of other public bathrooms in the Downtown area, including ones at the Carnegie Public Library, Allegheny County Courthouse, City-County Building and Point State Park.

Other cities have implemented similar public bathroom programs. Philadelphia in July introduced “Philly Phlush,” an initiative that opened six standalone public bathrooms throughout the city. The Portland Loo company, which Philadelphia used for its public bathrooms, has opened standalone bathrooms in 90 locations across the country.