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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-06-2014 C5 Restroom AvailabilityCity of San Luis Obispo, Council Agenda Report, Meeting Date, Item Number FROM: Daryl R. Grigsby, Director of Public Works Prepared By: Barbara Lynch, Deputy Director of Public Works SUBJECT: PUBLIC RESTROOMS RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Develop a restroom map for businesses and the Chamber of Commerce office to share with visitors. 2. Continue extended hours at Mission Plaza restroom and availability of Broad Street restroom. 3. Support opportunities for Public – Private partnerships to provide restrooms available to the general public as part of development. DISCUSSION Background Cities across the country struggle with providing reliably clean and safe public restrooms. Restrooms have become locations for illegal activities, and vandalism is very common. Some cities have closed restrooms rather than deal with the often costly maintenance and repair consequences of undesirable behavior in public restrooms. On the other hand, providing clean public restrooms can be an asset to a vibrant downtown and clean parks. During the City’s goal setting workshops, conducted as part of the 2013-15 Financial Plan, the City heard from community members about the use of public areas for restroom purposes. There were additional concerns expressed that homeless persons were hard pressed to find restroom facilities at night. Action Plan As part of the Council’s Major City Goal for Renewal of the Downtown, tied to the goal to Implement Comprehensive Strategies to Address Homelessness, the Council approved the following action plan:  Extend Mission Plaza restroom hours  Retrofit Broad / Marsh restroom and open one unit  Research additional restroom options and constraints  Provide a Council update on additional hours of restroom availability impacts, and recommendations for additional implementation efforts 1. Increased Availability The hours at the Mission Plaza restrooms were extended to midnight in July of 2013. There has been no noticeable increase in vandalism at that site. 5/6/14 C5 C5 - 1 Public Restrooms Page 2 Repair of one of the units in the Broad Street restroom building was undertaken at a cost of approximately $10,000. The restroom opened again in the latter part of 2013, after being originally opened in 2002, and then closed in 2006. The restroom was retrofitted with stainless steel fixtures to resist vandalism, and a heavy duty door. These restrooms were closed in 2006 after constant vandalism made it impractical to keep them open. The Broad Street restroom is open only in the late evening to early morning on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. These are the three evenings identified by representatives of the downtown businesses as the busy nights, when problems could be expected from late night clientele. To date, the restroom has not experience significant vandalism; although, use is not very high. The Downtown Association, through their newsletter (Attachment 1) and the Police, through word of mouth, are assisting in getting the message out that a restroom alternative to the public street is available and use is slowly increasing. Other restrooms in the City provide for public needs during daytime and evening hours. There are ten parks throughout the City with public restrooms that can be used from park opening at approximately 8 A.M. to park closure at dark. During the business day, buildings downtown provide restrooms, including the Library, City Hall and 919 Palm, the County Government Center, and the Marsh Garage. Attachment 2 and 3 identify hours of operation and the locations throughout the City where restrooms are available. In recent discussion with the Downtown Association Board, the idea of providing information to businesses on the location of restrooms came up, as some people were not aware of all the restrooms that are around the downtown already. In this way, businesses would be able to provide information and direction to visitors. 2. Options and Constraints Communication with other agencies indicates that solid solutions are still elusive. A recent Listserve, through the League of California Cities, confirmed that keeping restrooms clean and safe is a common challenge. Agencies are regularly dealing with vandalism, sometimes completely removing the restrooms, or increasing efforts to protect them. A specific contact was made with Santa Monica at the recommendation of a Councilmember, understanding restrooms were open there 24 hours a day. Contact with them confirmed their hours of operation are similar to that of San Luis Obispo’s. They also experience vandalism. They have experimented with providing an attendant in a parking garage restroom which appears to be working to reduce problems. A. Physical Design The City has experimented with two basic designs for its public restrooms. Originally restrooms were a common building with a single entrance and multiple stalls inside. Concerns were voiced by parents not comfortable sending children into multiple stall restrooms without them, and the City began experimenting with multiple, single stall restrooms. This style of restroom exists at Broad Street, Marsh Garage, and four of the City parks. Problems with this design were almost immediate. The restrooms were heavily vandalized and individuals locked themselves into the restroom for extended periods. The Marsh Garage C5 - 2 Public Restrooms Page 3 restroom experiences regular vandalism including destroyed fixtures, trash and clothing in the plumbing, and graffiti. There is daily evidence of drinking in the restroom. In addition to these types of behaviors, the Broad Street restroom also experienced plumbing lines broken away from the fixtures and heavy damage to the doors. The restrooms were closed for extended periods to make repairs and replacements to plumbing and fixtures. In 2006 the City Manager authorized permanent closure of the Broad Street restroom approximately four years after the opening. Once it became clear the single unit restroom was not providing the service intended, the design of new facilities reverted to multiple stalls within a single space. To minimize severe vandalism, new specifications for these facilities have been implemented. The restrooms now all have heavy duty metal fixtures, which do not succumb readily to being smashed. Mirrors are no longer provided. The entrance has a heavy metal door or metal gate that is locked in place at the time of closure. The interiors are coated to facilitate graffiti removal. These design elements have reduced vandalism costs and increased the availability of these facilities for the general public. State laws have also increased latitude for parents to take children of the opposite gender into the restroom with them, to reduce safety concerns. Several restrooms have been replaced or upgraded in recent years, primarily to meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA.) The fixtures, entries, and coatings have been upgraded at the same time as funding was available, to reduce vandalism and associated maintenance. Future upgrading of existing facilities to improve vandal resistance will help the City overall with availability and cost of providing restrooms. B. Alternative Facilities 1. Portable Units Downtown special events appear to be well served by providing portable units to handle peaks. These facilities do not remain in place long enough to attract problems. They may also be an acceptable alternative to address peak use times, such as Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night. A regular cleaning program coupled with a lack of plumbing, should increase their viability. The short duration of their stay will reduce long term occupancy issues encountered previously at the Broad Street restrooms and occasionally at construction site portable restrooms. Portable restrooms can take a couple forms, including the traditional “blue room,” or trailer mounted units containing a more familiar flush toilet and sink. 2. Self-cleaning Units Self-cleaning restrooms were expected to provide considerable relief for agencies, but have not proved reliable and, in some cases, have required regular manual cleaning. Agencies have experienced illegal activities occurring inside. Automatic opening doors, limiting the amount of time a user has inside, could provide some additional incentive to move on, but are not foolproof, as the occupant need only close the door again. 3. Attended Facilities C5 - 3 Public Restrooms Page 4 The concept of using an attendant or security person has also been considered. This would provide a regular monitor of the duration of any one person’s stay in the restroom, and could verify after each use that the restroom had not been vandalized. Police support would be needed for those unwilling to move along, and those having vandalized the restroom. The presence of the attendant may be enough to discourage bad behavior. 4. Surveillance Equipment City Hall restrooms also suffered from vandalism including graffiti, trash, and clogging of the plumbing. A camera was authorized to be installed in the hallway observing the doorway. Signs identifying that the site was monitored were also put up. Although the camera cannot observe vandalism occurring inside the restroom, due to privacy issues, it was hoped the signage and presence of the camera would be a deterrent. The installation did not work to address the problem. 5. New Designs In a recent discussion with the Downtown Association Board, there was some interest expressed in a more “European” approach of providing a very public style urinal. This approach will take additional research regarding compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements for lockable facilities, and public acceptance of such installations, before this would be recommended to the Council. 6. Shared Facilities The City is slowly converting use of its real estate in the downtown as surface parking lots convert to other uses. This creates a necessity, and provides an opportunity for the City to partner with private parties completing development, if additional restrooms are desired. A restroom could serve the development, but also be open for public use. The shared private – public use, could lead to fewer problems through higher levels of activity, closer oversight of the facility, possibly internal to a business or building lobby. The City could participate in the cost of operating the facility, or provide some form of incentive to provide restrooms in private developments, open to the general public, rather than customers only. C. Constraints The primary constraint to providing clean and viable restrooms is the users. Vandalism and other illegal activities that benefit from a lockable and private space will continue to challenge the City in providing this service. Restrooms can result in groups of people remaining for extended periods in the vicinity, which generates concerns from other users. The Broad Street restroom, the Mission Plaza restroom, and a couple of the larger parks, have experienced this phenomenon. For those without a regular residence, it makes sense to “hang out” near needed services, and the City should expect this behavior to occur wherever restrooms are constructed. Summary and Recommendation Changed design approaches have made an impact on the City’s ability to keep restrooms functional and clean. Not only are the restrooms restored to proper condition more rapidly, but C5 - 4 Public Restrooms Page 5 bad behaviors appear to be less. It appears the best approach to providing these facilities without incurring additional operational costs, is to continue restroom upgrades as needed, shifting toward durable, and less private facilities. Staff is recommending continuing the extended hours at Mission Plaza, and the limited hours operation at Broad Street (until such time as it is removed to make way for development proposed for the site). For the long term, future investment in an upgraded facility at Mission Plaza, expanding the capacity of the restroom somewhat, while upgrading the facilities to be more durable, is expected to provide the best overall benefit. This project will be submitted for consideration as part of the upcoming 2015-17 Financial Plan review process. Once the Broad street restroom is gone, portable restrooms, in place on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night could provide coverage of peak times in the more heavily traveled areas of the downtown. The City may also have opportunities to work with private developers to provide expanded service. FISCAL IMPACT The Mission Plaza restroom is tentatively programed for upgrade or replacement at the end of the City’s current five- year Capital Improvement Plan on page 3-400. The project estimate is $80,000 for design in 2015-16, and $430,000 to implement construction in 2016-17. Permanent construction is costly, but when looked at over the long term, can provide a cost effective way to provide this service. Cost per Seat Notes Portable Restrooms Private Rental $100 Per day  Includes cleaning and placement / pickup Trailer Restrooms City Managed $81 Per day  Assumes 1 day per week (duration limited to tank capacity)  Cost rises to $90 for 3 days per week due to increased wear / reduced life  Cleaning included. Water cost not included Permanent Restrooms $9 Per day  Assumes 8 seats  Cleaning included. Water cost not included Attendant $110 Per day – in addition to facility cost  Assumes two City Worker 1 positions for 6 hours C5 - 5 Public Restrooms Page 6 ALTERNATIVE Implement other alternatives. Council could direct staff to submit a funding request for one of the alternative approaches, such as an attendant or portable restrooms, as part of the 2015-17 Financial Plan. ATTACHMENTS 1. Downtown Association Newsletter 2. Existing Availability Table 3. Restroom Location Map t:\council agenda reports\2014\2014-05-06\restroom availability & recommendation (grigsby-lynch)\report - restrooms.docx C5 - 6 ATTACHMENT 1 C5 - 7 ASSESS AND RENEW THE DOWNTOWN GOAL RESTROOM AVAILABILITY Attachment 2 RESTROOM - HOURS OF AVAILABILITY LOCATION MORNING - NOON NOON – EVENING EVENING - MIDNIGHT MIDNIGHT – MORNING Downtown Broad/ Marsh Lot 2 X (12AM) X (3AM) City Buildings X X Library X X Marsh Garage X X Mission Plaza X X X (12AM) Other Locations Damon Garcia Fields X X X (11PM) French Park X X Islay Hill Park X X Johnson Park X X Laguna Lake Park X X Meadow Park X X X (11PM) Mitchell Park X X Santa Rosa Park X X X (10PM) Sinsheimer Park X X X Throop Park X X NEW NEW NEW C5 - 8 RESTROOM MAP Attachment 2 C5 - 9 RESTROOM LOCATIONS ATTACHMENT 3 C5 - 10 MAY 0 6 2014 Kremke, Kate j From: Sent: To: Subject: Attachments: Anthony J. Mejia I City Clerk City of San Luis Obispo 990 Palm Street San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 tel 1 805.781.7102 Mejia, Anthony Tuesday, May 06, 2014 12:12 PM Kremke, Kate FW: San Luis Obispo Downtown Association support for Public Restrooms DowntownSupportsPublicRestrooms05 .06.14.pdf - - - -- Original Message---- - From: Dominic [ma ilto: Dom inic@downtownsio.com] Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2014 12:12 PM AGENDA CORRESPONDENCE Date. sKo-� Item #—Li— To: Marx, Jan Cc: Mejia, Anthony; Lichtig, Katie; Codron, Michael; Greg Coates; Beau Cram; Joanne Currie; Carl Dudley; Jules DuRocher; Landy Fike; Josh Haring; Kannyn January; Amy Kardel; Marshall Ochylski; Pierre Rademaker; Gary Stevenson; Erica Stewart; Kimberly Walker Subject: San Luis Obispo Downtown Association support for Public Restrooms Good afternoon Mayor Marx, Among many issues that City Council will be addressing this evening is the Item C5 in the consent agenda relating to the public restrooms in our Downtown. After discussing this matter our board would like to issue a letter in support of the Public Works Department's efforts toward making public restrooms better and more available for our residents and guests. Please find attached a letter voicing our support. It is my hope that you will review this letter and share this with your fellow Council members. Sincerely, Dominic Tartaglia Executive Director SLO Downtown Association 1108 Garden Street, Suite 210 San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 (805) 541 -0286 Dominic @downtownslo.com www.DowntownSLO.com San Luis Obispo Downtown Association PO Box 1402 San Lciis Obispo California 93406 Phone 805 -541 -0286 Fax 805 -781 -2647 www.downrownslo,coin 06 May 2014 To: Mayor Jan Marx and City Council Members From: Dominic Tartaglia, Executive Director San Luis Obispo Downtown Association Re: Public Restrooms The San Luis Obispo Downtown Association recognizes the difficulty facing the implementation of improved public restrooms in the city of San Luis Obispo and the need for active participation of the stakeholders to address the needs of the public. Recently, our Board of Directors had the opportunity to meet with Barbara Lynch to discuss the future of public restroom facilities in the downtown area. In that meeting the Board received a positive report on how the extension of hours at Mission Plaza and Lot 2 was serving more patrons. Additionally, members were optimistic to see an increase in the number of public facilities available for members of the community during both the daytime hours and late night after hours to not only make it easier for the public to find an appropriate facility but also to prevent citizens from looking to inappropriate alternatives such as private alcoves, Bubble Gum Alley, parking lots and private restrooms among other alternatives. The Downtown Association wishes to express our support of the Staff Recommendations contained within consent agenda item C5 to produce a restroom map available to the public, continued extension of hours of service and to encourage greater public/ private endeavors to provide safe and sanitary restroom facilities within our core. As mentioned by the Staff Report, our Board of Directors suggested a more European approach to public restrooms, however, that is only one option that could be offered and we would certainly enjoy participation in the discussion surrounding any new options presented. We would not want to limit our options as a community. Currently we are using portable restrooms and trailers as a `band -aid' but we would like to see a permanent solution to this matter. Thank you for your consideration, e,�-,— a- Dominic Tartaglia Executive Director, San Luis Obispo Downtown Association J, FAAL San Luis Obispo Downtown Association PO Box 1402 San Luis Obispo California 93406 Phone 805 -541 -0286 Fax 805- 781 -2647 w w w. down to wnsl o. c on: CC: San Luis Obispo Downtown Association Board of Directors Katie Lichtig, City Manager Michael Codron, Downtown Champion