Hikers, including this one, were at first bummed to see the Fuller gate to Runyon Canyon was locked Thursday morning, but soon figured out what was up.
Not long after, a crane showed up at the Fuller Avenue entrance and dropped off a prefabbed two-stall bathroom, the first permanent such facility in the park’s history.
Hikers were told that while crews got the structure into place, to use the Vista or Mulholland entrances instead. It took them from about 6:30 a.m. to noon to drop the new bathroom into place.
Many would say it’s definitely long overdue, but not everyone agrees. More on that later.
If you can believe it, our lil ole neighborhood park pulls in about 2 million visitors a year. Insert mind blown emoji. And throughout all the years, the now iconic park and must-have selfie destination, has never had anything beyond port-a-potties. Even those were installed relatively recently. And anyone who’s ever had to use them knows exactly why people have been asking for something better.
“In a place like this, they should have something permanent, and not like this,” one hiker said referring to the portable toilets, “which is so gross to, like, enter.”
The backstory
The LA Department of Recreation and Parks Board approved the bathroom install back in 2024, and it’s been a pretty controversial topic since day one.
The price tag sits at a whopping $961,000 and that number has rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.
The neighborhood group Runyon Canyon Guardians pushed back. They said they reached out to a restroom manufacturer in Oregon and got a quote for about half the city’s budget. Scott Weil, one of the group’s members, said the park went 40 years without a bathroom. And since the average hike takes less than an hour, there wasn’t really a need for one.
“I thought it was absurd from the start, and now seeing it, it’s even more absurd,” Shira Scott Astrof told FOX 11 Thursday. “They wheeled in what looks like an extra-large dog house.”
Speaking from personal experience, as a guy, I’ve only once in 30 years of hiking Runyon wished there was something closer by. Obviously, I can’t speak for all, let alone women who might have different needs, but I understand the questions about the price tag. A million dollars, really?
Anastasia Mann, president of the Hollywood Hills West Neighborhood Council said neighbors near the Fuller Avenue entrance have told her they’re worried about the potential for the stench, increased foot traffic, and the possibility that bathrooms will attract crime. One need look no further than Plummer Park bathrooms to understand their concerns. The neighborhood council polled members for years and the sentiment was pretty consistent: most people didn’t want bathrooms at all.
But the city found growing support over time, both from local residents and the millions of visitors who come from across LA. Councilmember Nithya Raman’s office said the project was based on community input and went through significant outreach before getting approved in December 2024. Her office shared a statement with WEHOonline Friday afternoon saying, “We’re excited that this grant-funded restroom facility is a step closer to being available for public use at Runyon Canyon. Runyon is one of the most heavily used parks in Los Angeles, and providing restrooms is basic park infrastructure that benefits everyone who visits.”
Friends of Runyon Canyon also weighed in. “Public restrooms have consistently ranked as the number one or number two most requested amenity survey after survey for more than a decade,” said Paul Moore, vice president of the group. “With more than two million visitors each year, having proper facilities is a basic need. Quite simply, people are tired of individuals relieving themselves in the surrounding neighborhood streets, lawns, and bushes and trails.”
Moore said Parks and Recreation placed the restrooms in a highly visible, heavily trafficked area at the trail entrance, which helps discourage loitering and increases overall safety. “At the end of the day, this is a park that sees over two million visitors annually, and these facilities will be heavily and appropriately used,” he said.
WEHOonline has also reached out to the City of LA Parks and Rec for comment.
What it looks like
Before — Photo: WEHOonline
After — Photo: WEHOonline
The new facility is a yellow cinder block building with a brown metal roof, two ADA-accessible stalls, and exterior sinks. You can access it near the park entrance on Fuller Avenue. Construction fencing and green privacy screens still surrounded the area Thursday as crews worked to finish connecting everything. The structure was prefabricated offsite and delivered as a single unit, which is why they needed the crane. Parks and Rec said the bathroom meets the department’s standards for park service levels and is necessary for keeping the hiking spot accessible and enjoyable.
Still not done yet
Photo: WEHOonline
The bathroom itself is in the ground now, but there’s still work to do around it. Based on photos from the site, the surrounding area still needs grading, landscaping, and path work before everything is truly finished. The city had previously said the project needed to be completed by summer 2026.
For the millions of people who hike Runyon every year, this is the kind of basic infrastructure that probably should have existed a long time ago. For the neighbors who live nearby, the concerns about what comes next — maintenance, cleanliness, security — are still very real. How the city manages the facility and the issues that will undoubtedly arise will show us Runyon regulars whether the rather high price tag was worth the fight.
¨Public restrooms have consistently ranked as the number one or number two…¨ snicker snicker.
This is such a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation.
For years people complained about gross port-a-potties and hikers using bushes. Now the city installs a permanent, ADA-accessible restroom in a park that gets 2 million visitors a year, and suddenly it’s too expensive or unnecessary.
Is $961K a lot? Yes. But public projects in LA include utilities, permits, labor, and compliance, not just the prefab structure someone found online.
You can’t demand basic infrastructure and then be outraged when the city actually builds it.
THANK YOU. To argue against these bathrooms is asinine
When I ran at Runyon, I always had the need to use a bathroom, and so I went behind some bushes. Always.
Drink water and exercise; it’s necessary.
Who or what group provided the grant that paid for the restrooms?
LA Parks Department. It is written above.
It’s expensive because nimby’s have significantly,increase construction costs in California,through regulatory delays,permits,legal challenges,public input,and restrictive local policies..!
One million bucks! Government at its finest. So ridiculous.