March 10, 2026

Portable loos for PSQ

Throne photos [enlarge]

The Throne portable bathroom units would be free to the public and built to exceed ADA requirements.

Everyone's bursting with anticipation for the upcoming FIFA World Cup events this summer — but there's still some rather practical matters to attend to before the city can host hundreds of thousands of soccer fans.

Among the most practical of matters — having enough bathrooms for everyone.

Enter, the portable loo.

The Pioneer Square Preservation District's architectural review committee is set to hear a proposal on Wednesday on the installation of a handful of public bathrooms in the neighborhood.

The proposal comes from the Seattle Department of Transportation and the aptly named Throne Labs — a Maryland-based company that develops portable public toilets with high-tech features and “smart” monitoring.

The Throne bathrooms would be installed under a one-year pilot program with SDOT. Units would be placed in the public right of way at two thoughtfully chosen Pioneer Square locations — at First Avenue South and South Charles Street (directly across from the stadium), and at Second Avenue South and Washington Street. Each location would have two units.

In proposal documents, SDOT says the bathrooms would be funded from the 2026 Seattle Transportation Levy Downtown Activation Plan. The agency says that King County, Sound Transit and Pierce Transit are also pitching their own pilot potty programs.

THE LOW-DOWN ON THE LOOS

Each Throne unit would have a fully functioning toilet with running water. They'd be free to the public, with 24/7 remote monitoring, and built to exceed ADA requirements. They'd each have ramps, handlebars, and baby changing stations.

They'd operate on solar power —with a plug-in option. And both the interior and exterior would be coated in anti-graffiti material.

Users would have a 10-minute time limit. And while there's no charge to use the bathrooms, people would need to access them using a tap card, texting a phone number or scanning a QR code.

NOT YOUR TYPICAL TOILET

[enlarge]

The toilet and sink use no-touch technology, and sensors monitor supply, water and waste levels.

Take what you imagine of a public potty, and flush it away. Inside, these aren't your typical portable toilets. Photos of the Thrones show attractive modern fixtures and wallpaper. The toilet and sink would both have no-touch technology, and sensors would track the air quality and trigger a mechanical ventilation system.

SDOT says the units would be maintained by a local cleaning crew “approximately every 12 uses,” with 21 touchless sensors monitoring supply, water and waste levels.

WHO'S ON THE THRONE?

“Our goal is for Throne to do for public bathrooms what Uber did for transportation — by making them accessible anywhere you go at the push of a button,” Throne Labs said in a YouTube video introducing the product.

Founded in 2020 by Fletcher Wilson and headquartered in Brentwood, Maryland, Throne Labs provides portable “smart toilets” across the country.

Units have been deployed in several urban areas, including Washington, D.C., Detroit and Los Angeles. L.A.'s Metro system launched a partnership with Throne Labs in 2023. Since then, Metro says the Thrones have been used more than 150,000 times. On its website, the agency said, “Rider sentiment has been good. Complaints have been few.” As of August, Metro had deployed 25 Throne bathroom units, and plans to add another 44 bathrooms ahead of this summer's World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics.

PRESENTATION WEDNESDAY

Wednesday's Pioneer Square Architectural Review Committee meeting is set for 9 a.m. and will be held online via Webex. Agendas and minutes, as well as meeting links, can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/PSPDinfo