Still Waiting on Pershing Square APT

By Eric Richardson
Published: Monday, January 22, 2007, at 01:25PM

Eric Richardson

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — The Automated Public Toilet (APT) at the Pershing Square Red Line station was installed back in November, a little over two months ago. You still can’t use it, though, as it’s never quite made it into service.

It’s interesting to me how seeing something in the ground changes your expectations. We’d been asking for the APT for years before it showed up. Two months in that sense isn’t all that long. But when you see something installed and physically it looks finished, you expect it to open. When it doesn’t you get impatient.

I have no clue what’s holding up this particular APT. I sure hope it’s a real delay, and not just red-tape that’s backlogging final approval. The lack of public restrooms Downtown is a very real problem that spans ethnic and class lines. The sooner and more thoroughly we can start to actively address it, the better.

All Toilet Watch coverage:

05/03/07 -- Times Gives APTs Some Ink
04/26/07 -- Blame DWP
04/25/07 -- Come Ask Street Services about APTs
04/19/07 -- Move On to the Next One
04/17/07 -- Twenty Five Weeks and Counting
03/26/07 -- Three More Weeks; APT Still Not Open
03/07/07 -- Still Holding
01/22/07 -- Still Waiting on Pershing Square APT
11/22/06 -- Friends of the Sewer Welcome Toilets to Skid Row

Toilet Watch

4th and Hill Toilet Still Inching Toward Service

June 03, 2008

A fresh patch of concrete next to the still-not-functional Automated Public Toilet (APT) at 4th and Hill is visual proof that getting the unit in service...

DWP Still the Hold Up in Downtown Toilet

April 09, 2008

The Automated Public Toilet (APT) at 4th and Hill has been ready to go for nearly three months, but remains out of service waiting for the city's Department...

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Comments

lastraphanger writes:

Glad you posted this item. A lot of people (myself included) who regularly pass through this corner have been wondering the same thing. Once it does finally open, it'll be interesting to see if the nearby Metro station elevator ceases to be used as a de facto toilet for the area.

# on Jan.22.2007 AT 02:49 PM

Ed Fuentes writes:

See that plastic red thing marking the spot where the meter is in the concrete? I bet that's the hold up for the APT.

# on Jan.22.2007 AT 05:07 PM

Ginny-Marie Case writes:

Yes, I agree - where's my APT!

I think we should hold a candlelight vigil for the APT.

I'm going to get on that.

Ginny

# on Jan.23.2007 AT 06:48 PM

Scott Mercer writes:

How about a law requiring that businesses over a certain square footage maintain public toilets? Or even pay toilets?

# on Jan.24.2007 AT 05:18 AM

jdtaylor writes:

These units shouldn't take that long to install, I know someone at the company in question here in the UK, and I have dropped them an email with the link to this post, and it may well spark some action if it's not up and running by now if they see this post about how long it's been taking.

# on Oct.24.2007 AT 10:01 AM

downtown toilet writes:

thanks jdtaylor, but i'm operational now. sometimes, i don't get a few minutes to rest in-between customers. it gets that busy. i can't imagine what it was like before me around these parts.

# on Oct.24.2007 AT 01:56 PM