Long Beach has deployed free-to-use, high-tech restrooms at four locations around the city as part of a four-month pilot program to assess how well they provide the public with a safe, clean, private toilet when nature calls.
The portable restrooms, created by Washington D.C.-based Throne Labs, were set up on April 15 at Shoreline Marina, Harvey Milk Promenade Park, Belmont Pier and DeForest Park.
The bathrooms are enclosed in an 8-by-7-foot white cube with foliage-themed wallpaper and solar panels on top. Anyone trying to get into a Throne must use a cell phone to scan a QR code or send a text message. Each restroom has a flushing toilet, urinal, sink with running water, mirror, baby-changing station and a menstrual pad dispenser.
Users have a 10-minute limit for each use, after which the automatic door slides open.
The restrooms will be cleaned up to four times a day and are open daily from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., according to the city.
The units also receive preventative maintenance twice a week, said Ryan Kurtman, technology partnerships officer with the city’s Technology and Innovation Department.
Throne proposed the four-month pilot program through the city’s Pitch Long Beach! program, Kurtzman said.
After the pilot concludes in mid-August, staff will determine whether to expand the program full-time, Kurtzman said, and potentially take their recommendation to the City Council if their sign-off is needed.
The total cost for the pilot program was $99,200, with each of the four units accounting for $6,200 a month, according to Kurtzman. Funding for the pilot comes from the Technology & Development Innovation Fund and the Parks, Recreation and Marine Department for operation and maintenance.
DeForest Park was chosen as one of the locations for a Throne bathroom because the only restrooms at the park have been closed since last June, said Parks, Recreation and Marine spokesperson Jane Grobaty.
Two portable toilets were set up after a June 13 fire damaged the park’s restrooms. Those remain in place at the park along with the Throne.
Metro riders might already be familiar with the new restrooms.
One has been set up at the Willow Street station in Long Beach since May 2024 through a partnership between Throne Labs and LA Metro.
That location has seen 13,000 visits by 2,900 users in that timespan, Throne said in an announcement.
There are now 22 Throne bathrooms active across Los Angeles County, including 15 at LA Metro stations.
“Access to clean bathrooms is essential for vibrant communities, and our mission is to create facilities that everyone wants to use,” said Jessica Heinzelman, co-founder of Throne Labs. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with the City of Long Beach to demonstrate how access to delightful smart public restrooms can transform public spaces to be more welcoming to residents and visitors.”