If you’ve ever been out in D.C. and had to rush into a nearby store or restaurant just to relieve yourself, there’s a new, more accessible option. Mobile restrooms by the company Throne Labs are going up in the city.
Now these are not your run-of-the-mill porta potties: These restrooms offer running water, hands-free flushing and air conditioning.
“They’re beautiful inside and out, if you can say that about a restroom,” said Ward 1 Council member Brianne Nadeau, who led the push to start the pilot program, which will begin with five restrooms in the city.
They are high-tech restrooms, too. WTOP checked out one of the units on 4th Street Southeast near Nationals Park in Navy Yard.
To get in, a user must scan a QR code or text the restroom’s number to a phone number displayed on the restroom. Once you click send, the door slides open and a spa-like soundtrack welcomes you into the spacious restroom with tropical decor.
Nadeau said her hope is they serve the need for more restroom facilities in D.C.
“We have a very low percentage of public restrooms per person that needs them. And there’s very few that are open late night. Oftentimes, if you need to use the restroom, you’ve got to buy something at a store,” she said.
The restroom can also be accessed by the Throne Labs app. Inside the app, it shows two restrooms open in the city. The second is located in Oxon Run Park in Southeast.
WTOP contacted Throne Labs, which operates the restrooms, but was denied the ability to participate in an interview by D.C.’s Department of Public Works.
DPW only provided a statement to WTOP about the plans to install five of the restrooms:
“The Throne Labs pilot program will initially provide five public restrooms in areas with some of the heaviest foot traffic. Our goal is to provide consistently clean public restrooms to ensure that everyone, regardless of their background or circumstances, can access essential amenities and keep our city clean and accessible.”
For those using the Navy Yard location, they were impressed.
“I thought it was going to be kind of messy,” said Kanya Smith, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
But after using the facility, she said, the complete opposite was true.
“It was actually really clean and looked real homey, the leaves on the wall. Not your typical porta potty,” Smith said.
Kevin, of Oxon Hill, Maryland, said he’d like to see more of them in the city.
“I felt like I was on a spaceship. But very nice though, man. It was cool,” he said.
According to Nadeau, even though the funding to continue the program isn’t in Mayor Muriel Bowser’s next budget, she hopes to secure funding elsewhere.
“I’m prepared to continue the pilot by identifying funds for it in the council’s budget process, even though there isn’t any in the mayor’s budget,” Nadeau told WTOP.
WTOP has reached out to the mayor’s office for comment but has not yet received a response.
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