Portable restroom blocks for festivals and street fairs on closed streets and park ground.
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Festival restrooms are blocks of portable units placed for large crowds on closed streets, park ground and riverside lawns. A technician works out the count with the organizer for the expected attendance, includes accessible units in each cluster, and arranges servicing for the event's hours.
Columbus runs a full calendar of festivals and street fairs. Red, White & BOOM! along the Scioto Mile, the Pride march up High Street, the Columbus Jazz & Rib Fest, the Creekside Blues & Jazz Festival in Gahanna and the Dublin Irish Festival at Coffman Park all put large crowds onto ground that has no plumbing. Each one needs restrooms placed in blocks rather than one unit at a time, and the count has to match the crowd and the hours.
Crowd size is the number organizers most want and the number that is hardest to pin down. Figures for this calendar are usually reported after the event and often come from the organizers, so they are a guide rather than a count. A restroom plan built on a headline crowd can be far off for one block of units, which is why the count is worked out from the expected attendance on each day, the hours and the food and drink on offer, and then checked against the first day.
Closed streets bring their own rules. A City of Columbus Special Event Permit is required when a park event expects more than 100 participants, and when fireworks are part of the event. The application is due 60 days before the event and can be accepted up to one year ahead. A smaller gathering uses a park permit, filed 14 to 365 days ahead. The restroom plan is part of the conversation with the city and the provider, so it is raised early.
The count comes from the expected attendance, the hours on site, the food and drink on offer, and whether alcohol is served. It is planned with the organizer for the peak hour, not taken from a single headline figure.
Expected attendance is the starting point, but the figure should be the organizer's estimate for each day rather than a crowd count from an earlier year. A festival that draws a larger crowd on its second day needs more units then, and the count is set for that day. The technician asks for the estimate per day and plans the blocks for the busiest one.
Federal event guidance says that at least 5 percent of clustered single-user units should be accessible, with never fewer than one per cluster. The exemption for units used only by construction personnel does not apply to a festival.
A festival is open to the public, so the federal guidance on clusters of single-user units applies. Each block of units should have its own accessible unit, and the count follows the total units in that block. The technician places the accessible unit on the same route as the others and marks it as the guidance describes.
The main drivers are the attendance and the days, the number of blocks, the handwash stations, the delivery to closed streets and the servicing frequency. The price is explained and approved before work starts.
The number of units and the number of days are the largest drivers. A block sized for one evening costs less to place and service than one that stands through a multi-day festival, and each extra pumping visit is part of the job. The number of accessible units in each block adds to the count, and the handwash stations are a separate line.
Units go on firm ground that the service truck can reach, and the servicing route must stay open for the whole event. Closure barriers and crowd flow decide where the blocks can sit.
A closed street still has to be serviced, so the route for the pumping truck is planned with the closure plan. The blocks sit at the edge of the closure where the truck can stop safely, and the route is checked at the start of the event to make sure nothing has been parked across it. A block placed beyond the barrier is a problem for the truck.
The blocks are serviced on a schedule set around the crowd, with more visits at the peak hours. The blocks are checked each morning before the crowd arrives, and the schedule is adjusted after the first day.
The first day shows how the crowd really uses the blocks, and the schedule is adjusted from it. A block that fills faster than expected gets an extra visit, and one that stays quiet can be serviced less often. The technician agrees the schedule with the organizer before the first day and keeps the record of each pumping, which the hauler is required to keep for at least five years.
Do not climb on or lean against a restroom block, and do not open a tank or try to pump one yourself. The waste is sewage and septage, and only a registered hauler may remove it. Keep the service route clear during the event, and do not park across it. Report any unit that is tipping, leaking or without a working door to the event staff so it can be taken out of use.
The technician asks for the expected attendance on each day, the opening and closing hours, the number of food and drink stands and whether alcohol is served. Those answers set the count and the servicing schedule. The count is written for the peak hour, because a block that is full at the busiest time is the one that fails.
The technician confirms which permit the event falls under, the City of Columbus or a suburban city, and checks the ground the event uses. Closed streets, park lawns and riverside paths each need different placement. The permit conversation is kept with the organizer, and the restroom plan is kept in step with it.
The blocks are placed in clusters across the event, close to the main flow of people and away from the stages and food stands where they would block the crowd. Each cluster includes an accessible unit, and the route to each unit is kept clear. The layout is shown on the site plan before the blocks are placed.
The units are delivered and placed before the gates open or the first crowd arrives. The technician checks each block for a closed door, a firm base and a route for the service truck. Faults are corrected on the spot, because a block that is not ready at opening is a block the crowd finds out about.
The blocks are serviced on a schedule set around the crowd, with more visits at the peak hours. A registered septage hauler does the pumping, and the route is kept open during the event. At the close the units are pumped, cleaned and collected, and the ground is checked.
A street fair closes a road or a block of the city, and the restroom blocks sit at the edge of the closure where a service truck can reach them. The route for the truck is kept open while the street is closed, and the blocks are placed so the crowd can find them without crossing the main flow of the fair.
A festival on park ground needs blocks placed on the lawn edges and along the paths, with firm bases where the grass is soft. The technician plans the routes so people can walk to the blocks without crossing the stage area, and the pumping truck is given a route that does not cut across the lawn.
An event beside a river or on a waterfront path needs care with drainage and with the ground near the bank. Blocks are placed back from the water, on firm ground that does not flood after rain, and the service route is planned so the truck does not need to stop on a slope. The placement is checked against the weather forecast before the event.
Call any hour and explain what is going on. You get a clear price before any work starts.
The Scioto Mile hosts big downtown events, and a festival there has to fit the riverside paths and the closures that come with them. Red, White & BOOM! is one of the events that uses the river front, with fireworks launched from Genoa Park over the water. Blocks on those events are placed back from the river, on firm ground, and the service route is kept clear of the crowd.
Gahanna's Creekside Blues & Jazz Festival and the Dublin Irish Festival at Coffman Park are both suburban events with their own permit and planning process. The restroom plan is made with the city that runs the event, and the blocks are placed to suit the park and its paths. A technician will confirm the permit office and the event schedule before the plan is set.
Pride's march up High Street and the events on the Scioto Mile put crowds on streets that are closed for hours at a time. The servicing route is planned around the closures, and the blocks sit where a truck can reach them without crossing the march or the event. The plan is settled well ahead of the first closure.
Portable toilets for park gatherings, ball-field tournaments and community events, sized to the permit and the crowd.
Portable restroom blocks for state and county fairs, sized for multi-day crowds.
Start-line, finish-line and trailside portable toilets for road races and trail events on the greenway and park routes.
Accessible portable toilets with wider doors and grab bars, placed in the right number for public crowds.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
This guide gives no Columbus, Franklin County or Ohio ratio for event toilets.
A City of Columbus Special Event Permit is required for more than 100 people in a park, or for fireworks.
The tightest portable restroom weeks in Columbus follow the calendar: Ohio State home Saturdays in the autumn, the Arnold in early March, the Memorial Tournament in Dublin in early June, the early-July fireworks on the Scioto Mile and the State Fair in late July.
The right rental term depends on how long the site runs, how many people use the unit and how often it needs to be emptied.
Start with the organizer's expected attendance for each day, the hours and the food and drink on offer. A technician works out the count from those numbers and plans for the peak hour. The count is then checked against the first day, and the schedule is adjusted if the crowd is different.
A City of Columbus Special Event Permit is required when a park event expects more than 100 participants, and when fireworks are part of it. The application is due 60 days before the event and can be accepted up to one year ahead. Smaller gatherings use a park permit filed 14 to 365 days ahead.
Federal event guidance says at least 5 percent of clustered single-user units should be accessible, with never fewer than one per cluster. The guidance is not binding, but it is the reference to plan against. The exemption for construction-only units does not apply to a public festival.
The city or township that runs the event handles the permit, and the restroom plan is a question for that city and the provider. Dublin, Worthington, Gahanna and several other cities run their own calendars and permits. A technician will confirm which office applies before the plan is set.
The schedule is set around the crowd, with more visits at the peak hours. The schedule is agreed with the organizer before the event and adjusted after the first day. A registered septage hauler does the pumping, and the records are kept for at least five years.
No. The price depends on the expected attendance, the number of days, the number of blocks, the handwash stations, the delivery to closed streets and the servicing frequency. Call (888) 351-0294 and a technician will talk through the event. The price is explained and approved before any work starts.