The Seattle Parks and Recreation Department installed a temporary restroom at the Ballard Commons Park last week to ease pressure on the facilities of nearby businesses.

A green, portable toilet was placed on the northwest corner of the park on a gravel bed, with the door facing the street. But it will only stay until Labor Day, said parks department spokesperson Dewey Potter.

There are no long-term plans for a permanent restroom at Commons, said Potter.

"Parks has no plans, and no budget, for an outdoor restroom at this park," said Potter. "If we were to receive a request for one, we would analyze it and respond as we would to any request for a capital project."

The request for a toilet stemmed from several complaints from nearby businesses that are getting an increasing amount of park goers using their restrooms on sunny days when the park is busiest.

Stephen Edwin Lundgren, Friends of Ballard Commons Park, and a member of the park's project advisory team, said a permanent restroom at such an active park is paramount.

"This is an improvement but is not the solution," he said. "A long-term restroom facility for this park was sought during its design, and the need will remain."

Local businesses and residents are concerned about the lack of facilities at the park, and some have even seen people urinating on park property.

Rebecca Seigmund, a spokesperson for Bartell Drugs located on 22nd Avenue Northwest across the street from the park, said on a sunny weekend the store can get up to 40 people from Commons looking to use its restroom.

The store does not have public facilities and reserves its restroom for customers and employees only.

"I'm thrilled to know they (the parks department) are installing a restroom," said Seigmund. "Quite honestly, it does place a burden on the local merchants."

But she's disappointed that there seems to be no plans for a permanent restroom at the park. Seigmund suggested the city post signs throughout the park directing users to the nearest public facility, the Ballard Library, also just across the street.

In the meantime, Lundgren said the parks' stewards would continue to seek "creative, affordable and sustainable solutions to the sanitary needs of the park users."

"Ballard's community central park deserves to have something better than a portapotty, or nothing," he said.

Rebekah Schilperoort may be reached at rebekahs@robinsonnews.com