Why so many Seattle park bathrooms are closed
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The sign at Powell Barnett Park has a handwritten message: "Please open Bathrooms Thank You." Photo: Melissa Santos/Axios
If you visit one of Seattle's parks this month and have to pee, there's a good chance you'll be out of luck, as more than half of the city's park bathrooms are currently locked.
What's happening: Park officials say dozens of their public restrooms can't handle cold weather, forcing the city to close them for the season — a problem Seattle doesn't expect to fully fix until 2028.
Why it matters: If you've ever had to help your barely-potty-trained kid relieve themselves behind a bush — probably violating the city's law against public urination — then you know.
The big picture: People experiencing homelessness and advocacy groups have long expressed concern about Seattle's shortage of available public restrooms — not just at parks, but also at transit stations and stores.
By the numbers: Of the city's 129 public park bathrooms, 68 were closed as of Tuesday, according to city data.
- 41 of those were shuttered for the entire winter, roughly from late November to March, "due to the potential for freezing pipes that often burst," per the city's dashboard.
- 22 were closed for repairs or planned construction, while five were closed for "other" reasons. Some of these have portable toilets set up nearby, but not all, the parks department said.
What's next: The park bathrooms that closed for winter weather are slated to reopen in about a month, Seattle parks spokesperson Rachel Schulkin told Axios this week.
- By the end of 2028, the city plans to retrofit all of its bathrooms "with the appropriate protection" so they can stay open year-round.
Of note: The city also has fewer maintenance workers in the winter — another factor for bathroom closures — but plans to increase that staffing by 2028, Schulkin said.
Between the lines: Cities that regularly freeze over in the winter, such as Chicago and Cincinnati, commonly close many park bathrooms for the season.
- Yet some cities with milder climates similar to Seattle — such as Port Angeles and Federal Way — close bathrooms for shorter periods, mainly when freezing weather looms, rather than all season long.
Our thought bubble: It does feel a bit weird to go to a Seattle park in February and see closed bathrooms when low temperatures are hovering in the upper 30s and 40s.