“Looks terrible.”

“They’re ugly.”

“Eyesore.”

If there was one resounding message that was left from the survey conducted by the Human Services Department in November of 2012, it was that the temporary Honey Bucket in Ballard Commons Park is not enough. According to respondents, the Honey Bucket smells, looks bad and may attract illegal activity.

In the survey, conducted on SurveyMonkey, 53 percent of 332 respondents said they did not want the toilet in the park; 38 percent said they would like it to remain; and 9 percent were unsure. More than 90 percent of respondents were residents of Ballard.

Now, community groups are joining together and beginning discussions with the Parks and Human Services departments to find a more permanent solution, such as a full restroom facility or, the favored option, the Portland-famous loo restroom.

“I think the city of Seattle has made such a significant investment in Ballard Commons Park that a stopgap solution like a port-a-potty doesn’t do the park justice,” said Rev. R.C. Laird of St Luke’s Episcopal Church. “… I just think that it’s a significant oversight on the part of the city of Seattle to create such an attractive park, such an attractive amenity that does not have a sanitary restroom.”

Laird knows the problem firsthand. When there isn’t a public toilet available (the Honey Bucket is only around during the summer), people will go in the bushes in front of the church.

“Our gardeners have to use gloves -- not just gardening gloves -- they have to be careful when they touch the bushes because they aren’t sure what they’re going to find,” he said.

When the Ballard News-Tribune interviewed people who were homeless at the Ballard Commons Park, they said that when the Honey Bucket was not around, they would have to use the restrooms at 24-hour grocery stores or port-a-potties at construction sites. Others, they said, would relieve themselves in the open.

At their July meeting, the Central Ballard Residents Association passed a motion to support trying to install a permanent public restroom in Ballard Commons Park. While the association is in support of the Honey Bucket as a temporary measure, they do not believe it is permanent.

“In the long term I think everyone is interested in a public restroom or a loo,” said CBRA member Martha Dilts. “Something that is safe, sanitary and well maintained. (Something for) families with children, seniors, bikers, dog walkers as well as people without everyday access to restrooms.”

Particularly, community groups are interested in the idea of the loo, a Portland innovation that is sanitary, safe and easy to maintain.

The facility is made of an easily cleaned and maintained prison-grade steel. There’s enough room on the inside to fit a bicycle or baby stroller. The only faucet is found on the outside, discouraging from using the restroom as a personal bath. And the plumbing is simple and hard to break.

The loo attempts to negate many of the problems inherent with public restrooms. Graffiti, drugs, garbage fires, litter and general filthiness. Slats at the top above the head and the bottom give a casual view into the inside, giving a modest peekaboo view showing how many pairs of feet are inside. Not only does it instantly deter lawless behavior, but when something is happening, officers are better able to make a judgment call.

The Portland loo costs $90,000 to purchase and the purchaser is also responsible for shipping, installation, permitting and and ongoing maintenance costs, which are variable.

Seattle has already expressed interest in one loo, to be placed in Pioneer Square. Through partnership with a private business and the Alliance for Pioneer Square, the problem of funding and maintenance have already been solved.

Carol McCreary, cofounder of Portland’s loo group Public Hygiene Lets Us Stay Human (PHLUSH), stopped by Ballard recently when she came to promote the discussion in Pioneer Square. She noted that Ballard Commons Park made a good site for a loo since people would have easy access 24/7 and because there were open lines of sight, allowing for easy community monitoring.

Whatever the solution, Ballard needs something, Laird said.

“When I walk by the park, there’s always dozens of children enjoying the park and I always imagine how much more the park would be used if there was a (permanent) public toilet facility available to them.”

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