City Extending Pilot Program for 24/7 Public Restrooms

City officials in San Francisco are extending a pilot program that kept three public restrooms open around the clock in neighborhoods with frequent complaints about human feces in the streets, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The pilot program, which began in August, was testing whether people used public restrooms late at night and early in the morning. It found keeping the restrooms open all night resulted in cleaner streets.

The 24/7 restrooms, known as “Pit Stops,” are public stalls with on-site staff members to keep the restrooms clean. Officials were concerned not only with the cost of keeping full-staffed restrooms open all the time, but also about the safety of the workers at night.

Following the success of the program, officials expect to keep additional Pit Stops open around the clock as well as add more. There are currently 25 Pit Stops in 13 San Francisco neighborhoods.