PORTLAND, Ore. -- The City Council Wednesday approved accepting bids for improvements for Couch Park in Northwest Portland which will include the first new Portland Loo in quite some time.
A little more than a million dollars will redo the plaza areas where the brickwork is uneven to make it safer for everyone. And the park will get a new playground which is used a lot by students from a neighboring public school.
And the Portland Loo is part of the plan.
The city was sued for using Water Bureau ratepayer money to develop and build toilets in the past. It recently settled for $10 million dollars. So now it's set to add new loos. The Parks Bureau will pay for this one, which will be the 11th in the city.
There is concern about safety in Couch Park and drug use, especially after dark.
“People do need to use the restroom provided that's the only thing they use it for,” Tommie Corona told KGW.
“If they're gonna spend a million dollars put in a few security cameras,” added Hooper Pearce.
The city hopes to move quickly on improvement to Couch Park, with work starting in May and finished by November.