Seattle park bathrooms are dirty and unreliable, audit finds
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The bathroom at Powell Barnett Park last winter. Photo: Melissa Santos/Axios
If you think Seattle park restrooms are dirty and often closed when they're supposed to be open, a new audit says you're right.
Why it matters: It's hard to stay and enjoy a park if you (or your kid) has to pee and there's nowhere to go — or if the bathroom is so dirty you'd rather just … not.
- Park restrooms being closed or unusable contributes to Seattle's dearth of public bathrooms, making life more difficult for commuters, joggers, people experiencing homelessness and others.
Zoom in: In surveys, Seattle park users "consistently mention restroom cleanliness as an area of top concern," but the city isn't meeting its standards for cleaning the facilities, per the report released this week by the city auditor's office.
- The city aims to clean every restroom two to three times daily, including pressure washing the floors at least once per day, but that's not happening, the audit found.
- What's more, "we found that park restrooms are locked inconsistently and stated restroom hours are not always accurate," the audit said.
- The city's online dashboard detailing which park bathrooms are open and closed is frequently wrong, per the audit.
What they did: City auditors visited 50 park restrooms and found that half of them — 26 out of 50 — "were visibly dirty." Almost 15% (seven out of 50) lacked supplies such as toilet paper or hand soap, the audit found.
- The auditors rode with park maintenance workers to another 40 bathrooms and found "inconsistent" cleaning practices.
- Those visits took place between July and September of last year.
What they're saying: In a memo responding to the audit, Seattle parks superintendent AP Diaz didn't dispute the findings.
- The department plans to ramp up staffing and adjust cleaning protocols, Diaz said.
- He noted that, on account of budget issues last year, the department hired fewer workers than usual, which led to "significantly fewer laborers working on restrooms during the period of the audit than planned."
The big picture: Vandalism and "the impacts of the mental health, addiction and homelessness crisis" are also challenges that affect park bathrooms, Diaz said.
What we're watching: Diaz said the parks department is renovating many restrooms between now and 2028.
- The department also is weatherizing dozens of bathrooms, so they can all stay open throughout the winter.