TRAVERSE CITY--City officials are moving forward in the pursuit of building public bathrooms downtown.
The Downtown Development Authority is eyeing the corner of Cass and State streets as a potential site for public restrooms — a long-expressed request of merchants and shoppers. The site, known as parking Lot O, is located a block from busy Front Street.
Next month, the DDA board could consider asking consulting firms to submit proposals to develop an environmental clean-up plan. That will help determine what work the site requires.
"I'm anxious... to make sure we move ahead with the Lot O opportunity," said DDA Chairman T. Michael Jackson. "I think everybody is in favor of really moving forward with downtown restrooms."
The DDA's capital improvements plan includes $316,000 to build bathrooms. Executive Director Bryan Crough is checking with the state and the Grand Traverse County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority to see what, if any, assistance those agencies can provide for the project.
City officials aren't sure how much it will cost to maintain the facility if it's built. Crough estimated it could cost $50,000 or more a year to keep it clean and safe.
"We don't want to have any place that's not perfectly maintained," he said.
Downtown public bathrooms are a significant need, said Brad Van Dommelen, president of the Traverse City Convention & Visitors Bureau. The bureau, located at Union Street and Grandview Parkway, offers restroom use during its hours of operation, but it's an inconvenient walk for many seniors and families with children.
Van Dommelen suggested a rallying cry of "Latrines by Thirteen" in a recent letter to Jackson.
"We do so many things so well, and we have...not addressed this basic function that is so necessary," Van Dommelen said. "We need a permanent structure with good signage."
The DDA board on Friday authorized the extension of an incentive program that pays Front Street merchants who allow the public to use their bathrooms.
The Subway sandwich shop and Espresso Bay coffee shop will receive a combined $700 monthly through Aug. 31, 2013, for providing rest rooms. The yearlong agreement grew out of a summer pilot program that's proven successful, Crough said. Signs around downtown will be updated to direct bathroom-seekers to the two businesses.
"They reported increased wear and tear but not an increase in unusual incidents or problems. That was very good news," Crough said.
The merchant program is intended to provide more bathroom options until the city has a permanent solution, although Crough said it could continue after a stand-alone restroom is built.
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Record-Eagle/Vanessa McCrayThe city's Downtown Development Authority is eyeing parking Lot O, located at the corner of Cass and State streets, for a possible public bathroom building. Vanessa McCray
City eyes O for P
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