San Juan Bautista
– Relief may be on hand for tourists searching for a restroom in
San Juan Bautista.
San Juan Bautista – Relief may be on hand for tourists searching for a restroom in San Juan Bautista.
City Manager Jan McClintock said the financially ailing Mission City could have its first downtown public restroom by early fall. Business owners have said public restrooms will be crucial in luring tour buses back to the area and helping to fill the city’s coffers.
When she heard the news, Inka Link co-owner Julia Brodersen was delighted.
“Oh my God, that’s going to be wonderful,” Brodersen said.
Over the last six or seven years, tourist traffic has decreased dramatically, Brodersen said, and the city’s remaining visitors are always looking for restrooms.
“They always complain about the bathrooms,” she said.
San Juan Bautista has other public restrooms, McClintock said, but neither of them is downtown. Abbey Park’s are often filled by baseball players, while Mission San Juan Bautista’s are only open for limited hours, she said.
McClintock added that although some downtown businesses have restrooms of their own, they’re hesitant to open them to the public due to the state’s increasingly strict enforcement of Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.
Brodersen confirmed that Inka Line has a restroom that’s only used by employees, friends and family.
“It’s hard, because if someone fell and hurt themselves, they might sue us,” she said.
The Chamber of Commerce has been pushing for downtown restrooms for years, but has been told repeatedly that the city doesn’t have any money, Brodersen said. According to McClintock, San Juan still doesn’t have the money, but community support is making up for the lack of funding.
The biggest contributor is Earthbound Farms, which is funding an estimated $25,000 of engineering and design work. County Supervisor Anthony Botelho, who represents the San Juan Bautista area, is donating the cement and local craftsmen have volunteered to actually build the facilities.
“Without them, it wouldn’t be happening,” McClintock said.
She added that the city is still hoping generous locals donate the other materials needed.
“We’re looking for folks who can donate roofing, two-by-fours, all that good stuff,” McClintock said.
The restrooms will be located on Polk Street and will feature four unisex stalls, including one that meets ADA standards, McClintock said. The city plans to pay for the facility’s maintenance through funds raised by the transient occupancy tax.
Of course, opening the bathrooms won’t instantly transform San Juan Bautista into a tourist mecca. Doug Lumden, owner of Monterey Movie Tours, acknowledged that restrooms are a big factor when he plans his stops. But despite its rich cinematic history – Mission San Juan Bautista was the site of the climactic scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s film “Vertigo – Lumden said he won’t be adding the Mission City as a stop.
The main problem, he said, is that San Juan Bautista is too far from other tourist hot spots.
“It’s just out of the way,” Lumden said.
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
