Group Petitions for Public Toilet in Harvard Square

“Many people have told us the first thing Harvard Square businesses and churches do every morning is clean feces off their doorstep,” said Zachary L. Kerzee, a student at Harvard Divinity School. Kerzee is the co-web designer for Advocates for a Common Toilet, a new coalition comprised of area churches and businesses united to mobilize support for a public restroom in Harvard Square.

There has long been interest in building a public restroom to supplement the lone toilet inside the Harvard Square T stop, but the issue didn’t fully rise to prominence until last spring with the formation of ACT. Harvard Kennedy School professor Richard Parker spearheaded the effort to raise awareness and present a plan of action to the Cambridge City Council.

“All of us deserve access to a public restroom.  Homeless especially,” said Parker.

According to ACT, given the more than 8 million tourists that pass through Harvard Square every year and the more than 350 homeless people in the Square,  the need for a public restroom is apparent.  With the planned four million dollar renovation of Cambridge Common, ACT is petitioning the city to incorporate a public restroom into the renovation. Parker quoted two separate estimates of around $90,000 and $50,000 for the cost of installing a public toilet.

Over the last few months, ACT has been gathering support and lobbying the Cambridge City Council for the installation of such a facility. A written petition created by Parker and his team has collected roughly 3,000 signatures to date. According to Parker, the Cambridge City Manager has pledged to allocate funding for the toilet in the budget for FY15.

“I really think it’s strange that Cambridge doesn’t have a public restroom.  It’s a world class city and world class cities have toilets.” Kerzee noted.

Additionally, he spoke about public restrooms as a basic right. “It’s the responsibility of the civic government to provide basic needs for people who live in the community,” he added.

Although some have expressed concern that the current city-wide elections will shift momentum away from the public toilet efforts, ACT does not expect the new toilet plans to be flushed down the drain. Three incumbent councilors have publicly supported the public restroom project, and no candidate has come out against the initiative. Kerzee noted that the most pressing focus for ACT is to ensure that the city keeps its promise.

“In the end it comes down to hospitality. If someone came to my home and asked to use the restroom, I wouldn’t send them to Starbucks,” said Kerzee.