COLUMBIA, S.C. — Some new bathroom options could be on the way for anyone visiting downtown Columbia.
This week city council members discussed the possibilities of putting permanent public restrooms on Main Street.
For Matt Kennell, the president of the Main Street district, is optimistic about the potential of public bathrooms on Main Street. He says there is so much going on in downtown Columbia on a daily and weekly basis, but few options for public restrooms.
"We have over a hundred events downtown, every Saturday at Soda City Market, there's thousands of people down town, lots of hotels and more to come. There's lots of housing." he explains, "with that, just more people who may be looking for public restrooms."
That's part of the reason city leaders say they're working to put restroom options in the capital city. Mayor Daniel Rickenmann spoke about the idea earlier this week at a budget workshop meeting.
"With more and more people coming down on main street, we gotta have a place to go, the businesses that have been allowing people to use it, they're overwhelmed."
In that same meeting, city manager Teresa Wilson spoke about the idea of converting space in the main street district for the purpose of having restrooms.
"We talked with Mayor Rickenmann about identifying an actual space on main street that we could lease and up fit to accommodate bathrooms."
The idea has some businesses in the area excited. Hailey Davis works at Miss Cocky on Main St.
"People come in here looking for restrooms and we don't have one in here. We use the one in the Marriott hotel lobby and you have to have a hotel key to use and we aren't able to give that to them."
Some people do have concerns however, like Sonia England. She spent the evening on Main Street with friends and hopes the bathrooms will be monitored
"Because there's shortage of help. I don't think it's a bad idea, I just think they need to think it all the way through and actually have somebody that's in place that's going to maintain it."
Mayor Rickenmann thinks hiring staff to help will avoid issues.
"They'll be monitored, they also, they're not going to be open 24/7, they'll really be for during the day, and special events and then locked up, we're not going to have something where we're going to have an incident."
The city council's next budget workshop is Tuesday.