On January 10, 2018 the Committee on Transportation & Environment, Chaired by Councilmember Mary Cheh, held a hearing on Bill 22-0223, Public Restroom Facilities Installation & Promotion Act of 2017 which was inspired by and whose content reflected lessons learned and best practices elsewhere identified by PFFCs DowntownDC Public Restroom Initiative.
Bill 22-0223 directs the DC government to establish a working group consisting of the Department of Public Works, DC Water, the Department of Transportation, the Department of General Services, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Recreation to:
- Identify, with ANC & BID participation, up to 10 sites in areas of the District with limited access to public restroom facilities that are appropriate for installing a stand alone public restroom;
- Authorize the creation of a subsidy program for private entities to open their restrooms to the public.
Fourteen people, representing organizations or themselves, testified at the January 10 hearing. Their testimonies, below, touched on a wide arrange of topics:
Marcia Bernbaum, PFFC Downtown DC Public Restroom Initiative
Janet Sharp, PFFC Downtown DC Public Restroom Initiative
Revd. Catriona Laing, Church of the Epiphany
Leonard Greenberger, Potomac Communications Group
Will Handsfield, Georgetown BID
Dr. Catherine Crossland, Unity Health Care
Patty Mullahy Fugere, Washington legal Clinic for the Homeless
Nick DelleDone, Commissioner for ANC2B04