In June 2016, the city installed a shiny new toilet in downtown San Antonio and the public promptly lost their shit.
That's because the standalone public restroom came with a $97,000 price tag — a number that sounded a little too high, even for a modern, crime-fighting, and surprisingly sanitary loo made in Portland, OR. The outrage, however, did little to stop the project, mellowing into snarky Cornyation jokes and city council grandstanding.
But the wound's still fresh.
Maybe that's why the city kept Sunday's unveiling of the the second Portland Loo in Lions Field Park pretty quiet.
According to a note in District 1 Councilman Roberto Treviño's October newsletter, the second loo went up just before 60,000 Síclovía bicyclists took over Broadway St. last Sunday.
"The Loo's durability combined with its cost effectiveness makes it a better fit than Pot-o-potties [sic] or constructing an entire bathroom facility," wrote Treviño.
It appears the price hasn't changed much since 2016 — the Lions Field loo cost the city nearly $96,000.
That money came straight from 2012's $1.2 million bond project for Brackenridge Park, according to April Alcoser Luna, spokeswoman for the city's Transportation & Capital Improvements department.
There has been little public uproar about this equally-pricey sibling of the downtown loo. Perhaps that's because the San Antonio Police Department saw its public urination citations cut in half since the downtown restroom opened its door, or because Centro's cleanup crew saw a 27 percent drop in "cleaning efforts related to human waste" near the loo.
Or maybe they just haven't had time to react.
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