SF public toilet program expands to Lower Polk

A new neighborhood in San Francisco has a Pit Stop public toilet to help keep the neighborhood clean while allowing homeless people to take care of their bathroom needs with dignity, Public Works announced Monday.

The public toilet is located in the Lower Polk district, the ninth neighborhood to receive one.

The toilet is the 18th in the city and is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Larkin and Myrtle streets next to Sergeant John Macaulay Park.

Attendants will be staffing the toilet during the time it’s open.

Mayor Mark Farrell said in a statement:

“Our Pit Stop program is a win-win for communities. … These resources have a proven record of transforming neighborhoods and I am glad to see that Lower Polk is the latest community to benefit from this program.”

The toilets provide sinks, used needle receptacles and dog waste stations as well as a toilet in some of the city’s challenging neighborhoods.

Public works officials said San Francisco’s program has become a national model with Miami, Denver and Sacramento starting their own programs.

Los Angeles is scheduled to start one this month.

In San Francisco, besides the Lower Polk district, Pit Stop toilets are located in the Tenderloin, Mission, South of Market, Civic Center, Mid-Market, Bayview, Castro and Haight neighborhoods.

Public Works officials have also introduced a mobile “Painted Lady” Pit Stop that resembles a Victorian house.

Bay City News

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