There may be a free public toilet kiosk on Market Street near Castro, on the sidewalk near the Chevron station, but it's not enough for all the folks who need to pee.
While a lot homeless folks piss in various spots of the Castro's central business district and surrounding streets, let's bear in mind the many non-homeless bar patrons and visitors to the gayborhood, especially on the weekends, who pee on the streets.
One particularly pungent pee smelling area is around the bulletin board on 18th Street, just past the Walgreens store, at the entrance to a small parking lot.
When I announced my candidacy for District 8 Supervisor last spring, I staged a presser at the kiosk toilet and called for expanded free public toilets, along with shower facilities, for everyone to make good use of. We need to address the public health hazards inherently present with so much pee and poop on the streets, and no rain to wash it all away.
I'd like to see the City install the Pit Stop toilets in the Castro, and which are a huge success in the Tenderloin. There are other features and benefits, according to a recent Bay City News story:
"The pilot [Pit Stop] program is a partnership with the city Department of Public Works and nonprofit San Francisco Clean City Coalition making available portable toilets and sinks, used needle receptacles and dog waste stations.
"The facilities are staffed through the coalition and moved to the sites by truck, according to the public works department. The toilets run on solar power and are cleaned off-site everyday, city public works officials said."
Very impressive that the toilets also help reduce canine poop and needles on the sidewalks. Will Castro leaders agree to investigate Pit Stops for the gayborhood?
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