Des Moines opens downtown bathrooms for the homeless

Des Moines recently added portable restrooms to downtown streets and is evaluating whether to turn some into permanent facilities.

State of play: The bathrooms are primarily intended to serve people experiencing homelessness.

---

• The move was prompted by City Council's approval of camping and outdoor sleeping bans this week and could impact whether the ordinances work to reduce the number of unhoused people in Polk County.

Why it matters: A lack of facilities contributes to unsanitary conditions that can spread disease, leaving cities like San Diego dealing with Hepatitis A outbreaks in recent years.

• Bathroom inaccessibility can also lead to poor hygiene and a loss of opportunities for unhoused people, human rights advocacy groups say.

Driving the news: Two portable bathroom sites, which are open to everyone, were added at Third Street and Court Avenue as well as Fifth and Walnut streets prior to Monday's vote.

• They're test sites that could lead to additional facilities in other locations, city manager Scott Sanders tells Axios.

By the numbers: The restrooms cost $35 per unit to drop off and at least $108 each in monthly cleaning costs, assistant city manager Malcolm Hankins, tells Axios.

Reality check: Long-term solutions may cost far more.

• Officials in Columbus, Ohio, spent years and more than $2 million adding three permanent downtown bathrooms that opened in February after encountering regulatory and operational hurdles.

The big picture: Access to bathrooms varies considerably across the world, with some of the most developed countries being "troublingly short on public toilets," according to a 2021 report by the British company QS Supplies.

• The U.S. has eight public toilets per 100,000 people as compared to Iceland (56) and Switzerland (46), the countries with the highest toilet density.
• Iowa has 16 per capita, better than most states, per the report.

Zoom in: Other cities are also acting, including New York City where the mayor recently announced efforts to expand public restrooms.

• Tacoma, Washington, launched a pilot program this summer that gives portable toilets to people living in encampments to improve sanitation and reduce pollution from human waste.

What they're saying: Councilperson Josh Mandelbaum warned during Monday's meeting of the possibility of unintended consequences like illicit activities or people inhabiting the restrooms, which he said could be avoided with better designed facilities.

• "My concern is when these restrooms fail, that they will just go away," he said.

This is one of three permanent public bathrooms that opened in downtown Columbus, Ohio , this year in a project that cost more than $2 million. Photo: Tyler Buchanan/Axios