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Council asks administration to expand Cliff Walk restrooms, includes CIP request and year-round access target
Summary
Responding to public concern about limited facilities along the Cliff Walk, the council approved a resolution directing staff to pursue both temporary and permanent additional restrooms, include a project in the next CIP and aim for availability in the 2025 season with year-round access once established.
The council unanimously adopted a resolution asking the city administration to work with partners — including Salve Regina University, the Preservation Society and the Cliff Walk Commission — to expand restroom facilities along the Cliff Walk.
Public commenters and members of the Cliff Walk Commission told the council that existing facilities are inadequate for the area’s large visitor numbers and said temporary, hard-to-vandalize portable toilets plus a longer-term increase in permanent stalls are needed. One public commenter said the site receives more than 1.3 million visitors annually and asked for at least four units in peak season.
Councilors and staff discussed project timing and ownership issues: much of the Cliff Walk borders or crosses land held by Salve Regina and the Preservation Society, so the city said it would coordinate site selection and permissions with those partners. The council amended the draft to request availability of additional facilities in time for the 2025 season, and asked that any permanent facility be planned for year-round access once established.
The resolution also asks that a related capital project be included in the city’s next capital improvement program. Councilors requested that staff evaluate temporary trailer-style restrooms (more secure and harder to overturn than standard porta-johns) while pursuing longer-term capital funding and permanent facilities planning.
The council approved the resolution and asked staff to return with a plan that identifies sites, partners, operational responsibilities and an estimated timeline and budget.
