Published on August 1, 2023 at 3:04 pm
Q: Ruth N., a Jacksonville Today newsletter reader, was recently walking along the Southbank Riverwalk near the Lone Sailor statue when she found the only public restroom closed, with bars across the entrance.
“No one was working there and there wasn’t any notice indicating when or if renovations were taking place,” she tells us. “It wasn’t that long ago that I used these restrooms, but now it looks abandoned.”
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Ruth N. says it isn’t just the Riverwalk. It seems almost every time she goes to a park and tries to use a public restroom, it’s locked.
“The last time I was at Pumpkin Hill, the bathrooms were locked…and at Curtis Lee Johnson Boat Ramp,” she says. She wonders:
“Where do we use a restroom?”
A: The explanation is maintenance, a city spokesperson says.
In the Riverwalk restroom’s case, it’s an electrical issue. “We are in the process of repairing this issue, which will allow for those restrooms to be reopened.” No timeline was given.
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As of Tuesday, Aug. 1, the facility was closed, with locked gates barring the womens’ and mens’ restroom entrances. A portable lift was partially blocking the entrance.
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