Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SEATTLE — How do you stop public urination? One upset business owner across from Seattle's Occidental Park is taking matters into her own hands.
Joanna Urrego set up two outhouses in the park on July 4 because, she said, the city is doing nothing to stop hundreds of people from peeing in the alley beside her business every day, mostly transients and sports fans.
"Our alley behind our shop, behind Klondike Penny's, has become the preferred public toilet of the neighborhood," Urrego said. "So we figured if our alley was going to be the restroom anyway, we might as well build outhouses and bring them to where the people are."
The stench behind her business got so bad that it was actually seeping inside and disturbing employees. The outhouses, made of wood and featuring buckets, were plenty popular throughout the day, with many seeming to appreciate not having to go in the alley.
"There just ain't no restrooms and the ones there are out here are for customers only, so we're stuck, you know," said a man named Frank. "We have to do what we can."
Joanna said she was briefly handcuffed later in the afternoon and decided to take the outhouses down, but plans to bring them back again soon.
Mostly, she said she just wants the city to pay attention to the problem.
