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Residents press Dalton council to add restrooms along Mill Line trail; staff to study temporary options
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Summary
Two residents urged Dalton’s mayor and council to add restroom facilities along the heavily used 3.5-mile Mill Line trail, citing sanitation, accessibility, and safety concerns; city staff said it will explore temporary porta‑toilet options this week while continuing design work for a permanent facility.
Two Dalton residents urged the mayor and council on March 2 to add restroom facilities along the Mill Line trail, saying the 3.5-mile greenway lacks any public restrooms and has seen users relieve themselves along the path and leave used tissues behind.
“My name is Brooke Lee, and I'm a resident of Dalton,” Brooke Lee told the council during public comment. She said volunteers collected more than 350 petition signatures and more than 200 social‑media support posts in a short period and asked the council to place the matter on a future agenda for action. “We are simply asking that the city now support the success with the basic amenity for this heavily used public space,” she said.
Dee Goodwin, a lifelong Dalton resident and retired educator, described regular heavy use of the trail by families, seniors, people with strollers and local groups, and said littered used toilet paper and related sanitation problems are frequent. “Please, someone step up on this issue. I promise you will be our community hero if you do,” Goodwin told council members.
A council member asked whether the city could deploy temporary restrooms similar to those previously used at Civitan Park. A city staff member said staff will begin identifying temporary solutions this week, noting that permanent restrooms have been discussed during the Mill Line phase‑2 design but pose flood‑plain siting challenges. Staff added they have been looking at higher adjacent land that could allow a permanent facility, including possible partnerships or land acquisition, and said they will report back to council with options.
Council did not take formal action at the meeting; staff committed to researching short‑term porta‑toilet placement and continuing work on permanent options as part of the trail’s design process.
Clarifying details: petitioners reported collecting “over 350 signatures,” and “over 200 social media support posts”; staff said the Mill Line is in a phase‑2 design process and that floodplain constraints complicate permanent siting but that higher adjacent land is being considered. The residents named Hag Mill Lake Park and other local parks to compare restroom siting and suggested locking devices or other measures to address concerns about overnight use.
What’s next: Staff will identify temporary restroom solutions and return to the council with recommendations; no formal vote or funding decision occurred during the March 2 meeting.
