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.
![https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3cC9HA_0rK1gmrs00](https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&url=3cC9HA_0rK1gmrs00)
The bathrooms at Powell Barnett Park in the Central District are locked. Photo: Melissa Santos/Axios
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.
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.
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