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Better Bathrooms for Berkeley’s Biggest Park

Martin Nicolaus
Friday March 24, 2017 - 05:34:00 PM
This unit was installed by the National Park Service in Pacifica in June, 2016. It features flush toilet, waterless urinal and sink for handwashing. ADA compliant and solar powered, it cost $50,000 installed.
This unit was installed by the National Park Service in Pacifica in June, 2016. It features flush toilet, waterless urinal and sink for handwashing. ADA compliant and solar powered, it cost $50,000 installed.
The City of Lathrop (near Manteca) installed this unit to serve users of its new dog park in October, 2015. It includes flush toilet, waterless urinal, sink for handwashing, solar power, ADA, and security features. Total cost installed $52,000.
The City of Lathrop (near Manteca) installed this unit to serve users of its new dog park in October, 2015. It includes flush toilet, waterless urinal, sink for handwashing, solar power, ADA, and security features. Total cost installed $52,000.

Cesar Chavez Park is Berkeley’s biggest. It draws tens of thousands of visitors each year. Other cities offer their waterfront visitors clean, decent restrooms with flush toilets and sinks for handwashing. Berkeley offers only porta-potties. 

Nearly a thousand park visitors have signed a petition for better bathrooms at Cesar Chavez Park. Here’s what people say: 

 

  • “The porta-potties are nasty. They stink, they’re disgusting, they’re unsanitary. I don’t want my children in there.
  • “As a woman, I’m offended. Men might get by, standing up. But it’s revolting and humiliating to have to sit down there. For practical purposes, the park has no bathrooms that women can use.
  • “They make Berkeley look bad. People come here from all over the world. What kind of impression of our town do they take back home, with these primitive facilities?
  • “They show no respect for Cesar Chavez. The City named this park in his honor, but the facilities are shameful. Is this the best we can do?
Modern sanitary park bathrooms are not expensive. Vendors today offer attractive prefab park bathrooms with flush toilets and sinks for around $50,000 installed. See the examples on the back of this sheet. That’s about one tenth the cost of park bathrooms custom-built a decade ago. 

 

These modern flush-vault units look and operate just like residential bathrooms with flush toilets and sinks. These are not primitive campground units – there’s no big dark hole and no smell. They don’t require sewer hookups. They use solar power. Vault service costs a fraction of what the city now spends to pump out porta-potties. Installation is a matter of a few days. 

Berkeley could have beautiful sanitary park bathrooms welcoming to all genders and ages for what amounts to spare change in a $100 million budget. 

March 31 this year is the 90th anniversary of Cesar Chavez’ birth. Now would be an excellent time to honor the great leader of the farmworkers and of all the Latino people by removing the shameful blots on the face of the park and installing beautiful modern park bathrooms.