Church circulates petition to save park's Honey Bucket

Photo courtesy of Ballard News Tribune

From our news partner the Ballard News Tribune -- St. Luke's Episcopal Church, supported by the Ballard Chamber of Commerce, has started a petition to keep the Ballard Commons Honey Bucket past its take down date of Oct. 11.

The petition reads: "This Honey Bucket serves a critical public health function in downtown Ballard for all of us who visit and enjoy this heavily used urban park. The long-term goal for downtown Ballard is to establish a permanent restroom for the general public in the Ballard Commons Park as is usual in other city parks. The current well-serviced Honey Bucket is an important interim public facility for the community until the long-term goal of building a permanent facility can be accomplished. ... Many folks from across our community are depending on your good will and civic spirit so that they will have a healthy place to 'go' in downtown Ballard that preserves both their dignity and the public health of the community."

Having a restroom at Ballard Commons has been a contentious subject. According to a petition last year, some residents think that it attracts unwanted characters; others think having a public restroom is a much-needed service in the neighborhood, while most said they think the Honey Bucket is an eyesore.

Businesses, and notably the church, have a good reason to want to keep a public restroom: It keeps people from urinating and defecating on their property.