San Mateo is exploring public restrooms downtown

“I think there is general preference with going ahead with opening a public restroom downtown,” Deputy Mayor Lisa Diaz Nash said.

The Caltrain station currently has two platform-level single-occupancy restrooms that are closed and not maintained that would serve as potential sites. The site would require improvements to the height, doors and lighting to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act at a cost of $90,000, according to a staff report. The council also wanted the restrooms to be open for at least from sunup to sundown. The city also plans to add security cameras directed at the restrooms and spend around $36,000 on maintenance for daily cleaning, needed repairs and graffiti removal, according to the report. Evan Albert, deputy director of Public Works, acknowledged the city would face potential drug use and graffiti challenges moving forward, noting the Caltrain station restrooms had previously faced those issues.

“These restrooms closed seven years ago, and a lot of it was due to those reasons of graffiti, drug use and people throwing things in the toilet and clogging it,” Albert said.

The city is considering opening restrooms to increase public access and help downtown businesses. Lew Cohen, owner of B Street Books downtown, said there was an overwhelming need for more public restrooms. He noted he would get 20 people coming to his store to use the restroom on a Saturday. He argued for a more central location for them and noted the issue had been a priority for businesses for years.

“We should do what it takes,” Cohen said. “We shouldn’t be talking about if. We should talk about where or when and figure out a way to pay for it because it is a human right.”

Erica Wood, the president of the San Mateo Area Chamber of Commerce, said seniors and people with kids would be more likely to spend time downtown if public restrooms were easy to find.

“I think having access to clean, safe and accessible public restrooms is important for not only public health reasons but also to promote and support local businesses,” Wood said.

The council ultimately decided to start with one restroom. However, Councilmembers Rich Hedges and Robert Newsom favored multiple downtown locations. Newsom suggested partnering with downtown businesses to see if they could help with funding.

“Ideally, we would reopen both of these and possibly a third location,” Newsom said. “Obviously, the money has to be there.”

“I would like to see as many locations as we can afford,” Hedges said.

The Main Street Parking Garage has two currently locked restrooms only available for downtown business workers and the police department substation by key. If the city decided to make a public restroom there, it would require infrastructure improvements to the sloping path along Main Street and the sidewalk along First Avenue, with improvements costs at $100,000. The council also discussed having a study session in a year to see how things are going and consider new alternatives and ideas.