Public restroom to be built in Delucchi Park Public restroom to be built in Delucchi Park (December 02, 2005)

At least one more downtown comfort station coming
by Carol Bogart

It doesn't get more basic. But if you're shopping in downtown Pleasanton, finding a restroom open to the public has been a long-time problem.

The Downtown Specific Plan calls for construction of public restrooms on both Main Street and at Delucchi Park. The Delucchi Park location won Planning Commission approval at its Nov. 16 meeting. The restrooms, when complete, will include "family facilities" open to both males and females. Dads having to take a small daughter into a men's restroom has been an issue.

A Planning Commission staff report notes the Pleasanton Downtown Association "has long believed that providing public restrooms is a high priority. ... The lack of public restrooms can discourage visitors from staying in the Downtown to shop and pursue other activities."

A proposal to add an exterior public restroom to the renovation of Veterans Hall, 301 Main St., was scuttled when veterans and others mounted strong opposition to the idea. In March, multiple veterans took their complaints to Council. Several felt that the proposal would turn the Veterans Memorial Building into a "public outhouse" and was "a slap in the face." They said it would desecrate the historic building, now a haven for veterans, particularly those who served in Viet Nam.

The Delucchi Park facility, to be located in the southwest corner of the park closest to the creek with access from W. Angela Street, will include the family restroom with a diaper changing station, a disabled-accessible stall and sink. It also will have a men's restroom with two stalls and three urinals, and women's with five stalls. As amended and approved, the plans also call for daily cleaning, a posted number to call if, say, a toilet overflows, plus rooftop wiring for future Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) service for using palm pilots and pocket PCs. Benches and artwork may be added to the setting at some point.

A total of $400,000 has been allocated for construction of the Delucchi Park public restroom. The city hopes construction costs won't exceed $290,000. Any money left over will be set aside toward another public restroom at Lions Wayside Park.

The Planning Commission had estimated construction of a restroom at Veteran's Hall at $50,000 -- far less expensive than the Delucchi Park facility. Planner Donna Decker explains the cost difference as being related, in part, to building the free-standing Delucchi Park restrooms "from the ground up." At Veterans Hall, the exterior restroom would have been incorporated into the current renovation. That presented another drawback. Had the restroom been sited at Veterans Hall, it could not have opened until the spring of 2007 once the total renovation was completed.

The Delucchi Park project will now be voted on by Council. If approved, neighbors will be notified that construction won't begin before 8 a.m. and will conclude by 5. In March, city manager Nelson Fialho "conservatively" estimated that the restrooms could be open to the public within a year.

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