How do you know if you’re in a good neighborhood? Boze flushes out the answer
May 27, 2015, 1:36 PM | Updated: Oct 14, 2024, 9:20 am
The City of Seattle plans to instal public bathrooms similar to the ones used in Portland, called "Loos." (City of Portland)
(City of Portland)
How do you know if you are in a good neighborhood or a bad one?
Check the bathroom situation.
At least, that’s the advice from AM 770 KTTH’s David Boze who argued that public restrooms are rather telling.
“Public restrooms are like a warning bell for what your neighborhood is becoming,” Boze said.
It’s a topic flowing through Seattle’s pipeline of conversation as the city installs a new public bathroom in Pioneer Square. The city previously attempted to solve the community’s urging needs in 2003 with five high-tech bathrooms, costing $1 million each.
The city is adding new restrooms, which are much cheaper and are expected to deter illegal activities at $230,000. They are modeled after Portland’s public restrooms, called “Loos.”
Boze notes that the city has a rather … poopy problem, especially in the areas around Pioneer Square. The area accounted for the bulk of such reported incidents and cleanups from January to May 5.
But the radio host thinks that the restrooms are a sign of something else.
“If you are traveling across the country and you are in a neighborhood where you walk into a fast food outlet … if the restroom is clean, either A, the restaurant is brand-spanking new, or [B] you’re in a good neighborhood,” Boze said. “If you walk to a place, any neighborhood and they are handing you some large object with a key chained to it in order to go unlock the bathroom, then you know you are in a bad neighborhood.”
What does that mean for Seattle as it makes efforts to install new public bathrooms?
“As you travel across the country, you can see in communities where there is a problem, it’s indicative right from the get-go in the public spaces,” he said.
If the bathrooms aren’t up to par, then the area most likely isn’t either.
So, if the city is investing in cleaning up the Pioneer Square and adding restrooms, does this mean it is on track to become a more desirable place to be? What does this say about the other areas of Seattle getting new restrooms?
