AUSTIN — Keeping Austin's downtown streets and sidewalks clean is something city council members have tried to figure out the past couple of years. They have now come up with a creative concept that they are hoping relieves some of the problems.
The city council on Thursday night approved a measure to pay a company more than $100,000 a year to clean one single toilet in Austin. This isn't a new issue for downtown Austin or the people working for the city.
In April 2017, the interim director for Austin Public Health said the city was seeing more people using the bathroom on the streets.
Their new idea is one public bathroom. The city did a pilot program of the bathroom last year, and now the city is thinking of bringing it back. However, they need to keep it clean. The proposal would pay a company $115,000 a year to clean the souped-up port-a-potty.
The toilet is portable, so it can move around as events require. However, it would stay within a five-mile radius of the State Capitol.