On Wednesday, local officials were scheduled to meet in San Francisco’s Noe Valley Town SquareTheir latest victory: A single public toilet, which will cost up to $1.7million to build and won’t be completed until 2025.
After a San Francisco Chronicle columnist highlighted “mind-boggling”, and “maddening”, details of this project, the celebration was cancelled.
California Assemblyman Matt Haney said to the newspaper that he now finds the price tag “inexplicable.”
Haney explained that Rec and Park had first given the number to him. It sounded shockingly large to me.” San Francisco Chronicle.
“I’m glad that Noe Valley will at some point get a bathroom, but it shouldn’t cost this much, and it shouldn’t take this long, and I’m angry about it. … It’s not something I want to celebrate right now.”
Festival-goers walk along 24th Street during the Noe Valley neighborhood SummerFEST, Sunday June 23, 2019, in San Francisco.
(Photo by Josie Norris/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
A spokesperson for the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department told Fox News Digital that the exorbitantly high cost is due to “onerous demands and unpredictable costs levied by PG&E,” construction costs that have skyrocketed 20% to 30% in the past two years, and Worker employmentThey are receiving a living wage along with benefits.
“It’s also important to note that public projects and their overall cost estimates don’t just reflect the price of erecting structures,” the spokesperson said. They include costs for planning, drawing permits, reviews and construction management.
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The cost of the toilet could be lower than $1.7 million when it is completed in 2025. Any remaining funds will go towards maintenance and upgrades according to the parks department.
Festival-goers can mix and mingle while feeding the animals at the Noe Valley neighborhood SummerFEST on the Noe Valley Town Square.
(Josie Norris/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
Haney maintained that his constituents have asked for a public restroom since 2016 when the town square was opened. The notorious San Francisco feces problemThis topic has been a top priority for local officials for many years. Mayor London Breed announced a new public safety and health initiative last December.
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“The challenges the cramped conditions, the nasty streets, and when I say nasty – full of feces and urine – that the Department of Public Works is cleaning every single day, but it comes back just a few hours later,” Breed said at the time.
