Stay up to date with FOW’s Restroom Facilities Master Plan!
Updated January 12th, 2023
Due to increasing demand for facilities in the park after many years, Friends of the Wissahickon (FOW) worked with its consultant NV5 to develop a Restroom Facilities Master Plan. This study will help FOW plan projects over the next 10 years and secure needed funding for restrooms and operations staff in future years.
“Our goal is accessible, clean, and open park restrooms for every visitor when they visit the Wissahickon. This survey is the first step in understanding where the demand for restrooms is greatest and the resources we need to bring to the problem,” explains Ruffian Tittmann, FOW’s Executive Director.
Starting in April 2021, FOW has been counting the number of visitors in the Park at key park entrances, and beginning in May, FOW conducted a survey to better understand how many restrooms are needed and where best to put them. Between May and August 2021 about 1,000 park users responded to the survey, sharing their thoughts on all things restroom-related in the Wissahickon.
Results from this survey, along with key stakeholder interviews, a Wikimapping survey, and two public meetings, were all instrumental in informing the Master Plan, which was completed in November 2022. Thank you to all who participated and stay tuned for what’s ahead in 2023!
We learned from you where we should prioritize new permanent bathrooms in the park
FOW’s Master Restroom Plan at a glance:
- Project Consultant: NV5
- Six existing facilities/structures have been evaluated for current operation, conditions, & potential adaptive reuse, if appropriate.
- 12 trail counters were installed April 2021 for 1 year of monitoring
- In-park surveys were conducted from May to August 2021
- Public Meeting #1: Tuesday, September 21st, 2021 at 6pm
- Click here to watch.
- Read about the meeting here!
- Public Meeting #2: Wednesday, February 16th, 2022 at 6pm
- FOW collected survey responses via Wikimapping to learn about your priority locations for future restrooms between September 2021 to end of February 2022.
- Restroom Facilities Master Plan draft is complete! Click here to read it.
- Next steps in 2023 will be the design and permitting of demonstration facility
Any questions about this project? Email berkowitz@fow.org