Gotta Go in Downtown Kent? Porta-Potty Proposal Could Bring Relief

Without any public restrooms in nearby downtown Kent one councilman wants to install portable toilets on town streets but local businesses are ready to flush the idea down the drain.

Kent’s First selectman Bruce K. Adams proposed the porta-potties along the town’s business district to provide relief for downtown pedestrians and visitors. Public restrooms used to be available at the Kent Village Barn Shops along U.S. Route 7 and Maple Street but the facilities were closed last August after new owners purchased the property.

According to minutes from last week’s Board of Selectmen meeting, Adams asked five businesses surrounding the shops to open restroom facilities to public patrons – but all declined. Adams saw no other option but to propose the installation of portable toilets on city streets, but the Kent Chamber of Commerce has not warmed to the idea.

“I don’t see the people who frequent Kent going into a porta-potty,” local Sotheby’s real estate agent and chamber of commerce member Karen Casey told The News-Times.

Casey is in talks with Rock Hill Associates LLC, the current owners of the Kent Village shops, to reopen their toilet facilities to the public, according to the meeting’s minutes.

In the meantime, Kent pedestrians heading downtown may need to plan ahead to be sure they aren’t caught out of turn, if you catch our drift.