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Council hears design options, costs and ADA concerns for Benroost skate-park restroom and parking project
Summary
Parks staff recommended a traditional CXT restroom unit and presented comparative costs and accessibility concerns for the Portland Loo; council members expressed support for the lower-cost option with continued attention to ADA access, orientation, and maintenance. Staff will return with the design contract on the consent agenda.
Parks department staff presented designs, cost estimates and accessibility trade-offs on June 2 for the Benroost Skate Park restroom, parking lot and pump-track project. The presentation compared the traditional CXT prefabricated restroom to the Portland Loo model and addressed public-safety, maintenance and ADA concerns.
"The current Portland loo unit, does not meet the required turning radius for wheelchairs in the state of Washington," the parks presenter said, noting manufacturers were developing a second-generation Portland Loo with a larger footprint that would meet state turning-radius requirements but at substantially higher cost.
Staff told council the new Portland Loo variant could cost roughly $200,000 per unit delivered and installed with weatherization and other extras, while a CXT option would be around $175,000 delivered with the amenities the city had specified. Parks staff also noted the project sits inside a broader phase of work: about $700,000 in project funds were available for the phase that includes the restroom and the parking lot.
Parks staff recommended proceeding with the CXT option and returning a design contract to council on the consent agenda. "The staff recommendation is we would love to move forward with this project. We like the CXT unit, and, we would we'd like to put this design contract back on a consent agenda in the near future," the presenter said.
Council members emphasized safety through design, visibility and maintenance as critical factors. Several members cited the importance of door orientation and sight lines toward busy streets and the Tommy Thompson Trail. Councilmember Young said the decision should consider public input, durability and cost: "The last thing for me that it kinda comes down to is cost," he said, noting the city has constrained revenues and that the Portland Loo's higher price made the CXT option more fiscally prudent.
Council discussed new state requirements for changing tables in public restrooms; staff confirmed the city will need to incorporate those requirements into restroom designs.
No formal ordinance or funding allocation was adopted at the meeting. Council consensus favored returning the design contract to the consent agenda for a future meeting; staff will finalize exact siting, door orientation and related site work as part of the design process and noted final locations will be adjusted to accommodate critical-area setbacks and ADA access.
