Uptown Oxford will have its first public restroom

A public restroom is slated for construction in Martin Luther King Jr. Uptown Park, located across from the park stage and next to the Civil War cannon monument.

Assistant city manager Jessica Greene said it is due to a community survey.

“A few years back, in 2021, the public restroom idea emerged from an Uptown business survey with 40 business owners responding, and then again in a 2023 survey with over 200 business respondents,” Greene said. “It was then that we began to seek grants for the project and also began the designing efforts.”

While the project was initially met with enthusiasm, current issues around funding have led to an uncertain timeline for its construction.

“Unfortunately, we were unable to get any bids so far for the restroom’s construction,” Greene said. “We’ll probably go back to the drawing board and figure out more details based on what donations we get. We hope to be able to keep bringing up this issue during city council meetings.”

Around Miami University, students appear open to the possibility of public restrooms in their future.

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“I didn’t know we were getting one, but it seems it will be cool to have,” Sam Druckner, a junior emerging technology in business and design major, said. “Especially if we get a lot of people here for festivals.”

Lean Kallmeyer, a junior education major, said she feels like this is a necessary addition to Uptown Oxford.

“As someone who works at the United Dairy Farmers (UDF) near the park, it definitely makes sense to have,” Kallmeyer said. “During big events, we always see a lot of people rush to the UDF’s restroom, and so a restroom in the park itself would definitely make everything go more easily.”

Currently, the public restroom is planned to be a two-stall restroom with changing tables in each section, with the possibility of an adult changing table, dependent on donation funding.

kwanwz@miamioh.edu