FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 15, 2014 

Contact: Rachel Gordon, 415-554-6045

TENDERLOIN PIT STOP BRINGS RELIEF TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD 

Pilot project includes public toilets and sinks, containers for used needles and dog waste stations

San Francisco, CA – Public Works today launched Tenderloin Pit Stop – a six-month pilot project that provides portable toilets and sinks, used needle receptacles and dog waste stations at three locations in the Tenderloin.

The portable Tenderloin Pit Stop facilities will be open Tuesday through Friday from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. They will be monitored by paid staff and removed at the end of each day to be serviced off site. The toilets are high quality, flushable and have solar-powered lighting. The program will run through Jan. 16, 2015.

“We hear from residents and know from our own street-cleaning experience that human waste, dog droppings and improperly discarded needles are major challenges in the Tenderloin that need to be addressed,” said San Francisco Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru. “As a world-class City, we cannot have people, especially the 4,000 children living in the Tenderloin, worry about stepping in poop when they walk through the neighborhood. This is a quality of life issue.”

The three Tenderloin Pit Stop locations are: Ellis Street (between Taylor and Jones streets); Hyde Street (between Eddy and Turk streets); and Golden Gate Avenue (between Jones and Taylor streets).

"Our office has been working with Public Works to pilot a public toilet program over the past two years," said District 6 Supervisor Jane Kim, who represents the Tenderloin. "Public Works surveyed the Tenderloin and found particular areas that, despite repeated daily cleaning, needed constant attention. Our residents deserve both clean streets and a safe place to do their business with dignity."

In June, Public Works received and responded to 967 reports of human excrement on the streets and sidewalks citywide. Of those, 529, or 55 percent were in the Tenderloin, a densely packed neighborhood generally bounded by Geary, Market, Larkin and Mason streets.

Most of the human waste was found where there’s a semblance of privacy off the main thoroughfares, such as alleyways, parking lots, outside of emergency exits and between parked vehicles. The Tenderloin Pit Stop bathrooms will provide an alternative in an area with few public bathrooms.

The bathrooms will be available after most of the nonprofits in the neighborhood are closed for the day and for a few hours after dinner is served at the packed soup kitchens.

San Francisco Public Works is operating Tenderloin Pit Stop in partnership with the nonprofit SF Clean City, which will staff the locations to keep the facilities safe and secure.

“SF Clean City has been working to clean and beautify the Tenderloin for nearly a decade,” said Gia Grant, the organization’s executive director. “It has been a long-awaited goal of our organization to help create public access to clean, safe restrooms.”

During the six-month trial, Public Works will assess the $150,000 pilot program’s effectiveness based on usage, service-request data, on-the-ground observation by cleaning crews and community response. If successful, the City will consider expanding the program to other high-need neighborhoods.

About San Francisco Public Works: The 24/7 City agency cleans and resurfaces streets; plants and nurtures City-maintained street trees; designs, constructs and maintains City-owned facilities; inspects streets and sidewalks; builds curb ramps; eradicates graffiti; partners with neighborhoods; trains people for jobs; greens the right of way; and educates our communities.