, 2023-04-17 16:50:00,

The “Closed For The Season” signs on the doors of public park restrooms have come down, at least until mid-October.Four Cincinnati Parks restrooms are back in business, with a fifth soon to follow.But simply getting repairs made and structures maintained is an ongoing challenge for the city.Deferred maintenance is the culprit.One thing no one can defer indefinitely is a bathroom break.For those who got to go and can find no place to go, Monday’s “go” moment was when City Manager Sheryl Long turned a large, red valve to symbolically get the Fulton Avenue Comfort Station in Eden Park back in the flow.The place had been closed since last June.”We hear about it all the time,” said Jason Barron, the director of Cincinnati Parks. “People call, they ask. They ask when they’re going to open.”As of Monday morning, there were 34 places in the city’s parks where one could, well, find relief.That includes a relatively little-known facility tucked under the Suspension Bridge.Generally, the open hours are between 6 or 8 in the morning to 9 or 10 at night.For many, the rest of the time might as well be part of the October to April offseason.”We don’t have access to public restrooms on any kind of scale that other urban cities do,” said former city lawmaker Chris Seelbach, who pushed for gender-neutral, wheelchair-accessible public bathrooms a decade ago.To this moment, the one at Smale Park is the only one.The city isn’t exactly flush, but saw the need for $400,000 additional capital dollars to get park restrooms reopened.Jim Goetz, Cincinnati Park Board chairman, said, “The restoration of these bathrooms is a prime example of those efforts coming to fruition.”As much of a relief as it is to those who operate the parks, it’s even more so to the many thousands who visit the parks each year.But it’s a drop in the proverbial bucket.Deferred maintenance on city infrastructure runs into the hundreds of millions of dollars.For parks alone, you’re talking $70 million.Given the lack of heat and insulation in the structures, year-round access is not possible.”What we’re focused on is making sure the restrooms we have are available as much as we can during the season they can be available,” Barron said.Availability is a daily challenge for the homeless, who must rely on sometimes unreliable places like gas stations and fast food restaurants.”The people who need to go to the restroom but have no access to public restrooms are going, urinating and defecating on our…

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