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Festival and Street Fair Restrooms in Detroit, MI

Clusters of portable toilets for Detroit festivals and street fairs, planned around the crowd flow and the city's special events process.

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  • Festival weekends, race circuits and parade routes downtown
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Festival Restrooms

Festival and Street Fair Restrooms: what it covers

Quick answer

Festival restrooms are clusters of portable toilets placed around a festival or street fair so a crowd can use them without long queues. In Detroit they are planned on the event site plan that the city's special events process requires. Detroit Porta Potty Rental sizes each cluster from the crowd and the length of the day across Wayne County.

Festival and Street Fair Restrooms illustration for Detroit, MI

A festival is a crowd that arrives all at once, stays for hours and leaves in a rush. The restroom plan has to handle the peak, not the average, and the peak usually comes in the hour before a headline act or as a parade ends. Units placed without a plan end up in one spot, with long queues at one end and nothing at the other.

Detroit's festivals are held on Hart Plaza and the downtown grid, in neighbourhood streets and along the Hamtramck commercial strip. Each one has a different shape, a different crowd and a different set of permissions. The cluster is designed for the place, not copied from last year.

The plan starts with the site plan. Detroit's special events process needs a department sign-off and City Council approval for many events, and the toilets are shown on the plan with their position, the route to them and the service truck's access. That document is the starting point for any count.

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Detroit & Wayne County
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How many portable toilets does a festival need?

There is no single Detroit or Wayne County ratio for general events that could be quoted, so the count is built from the expected peak crowd, the hours and the mix of food and stage areas. The count is then checked against the site plan and the city's requirements.

The peak crowd is the figure to plan for, because the toilets are used most in the hour before a headline act and as an event ends. Count the vendors and staff separately, since they use the toilets through the whole day. A festival with a long day and a lot of food needs more units than a short concert with a small bar, even at the same crowd size.

  • Plan from the expected peak crowd
  • Add vendors and staff, who use them all day
  • Allow for food and beer lines to lengthen the queues
  • Check the total against the site plan

Where should festival restrooms go on a crowded site?

At the main entrances, beside the stages and at the far end of the food row, so a queue never has to cross the crowd flow. Clusters are placed where people already walk, not in a corner the crowd has to search for.

A cluster at the entrance catches people arriving and leaving, and clusters beside the stages catch the peak. Placing units along the route from the main stage to the food row helps people find them without asking. Keep the clusters clear of the service truck's path and of the emergency access routes shown on the plan.

  • Main entrances and exits
  • Beside the main stage
  • Along the route to the food row
  • Clear of emergency access routes

What does Detroit need for a festival with toilets?

Detroit's special events process requires a Special Events Application, department sign-off and City Council approval for many events. Older city paperwork asked for a portable toilet agreement and a site plan showing the units, so the current forms should be checked for the event in question.

The application is filed through the city, and the site plan is the document that shows the toilets, the routes and the access. Event organisers should ask the city for the current form rather than reuse one from a previous year. The guide on Detroit special event permits and portable restrooms sets out the steps in more detail.

  • Special Events Application filed with the city
  • Department sign-off
  • City Council approval for many events
  • Site plan showing the units and routes

What about festivals in the neighbourhoods?

A neighbourhood festival in Hamtramck or a Detroit block usually has fewer units, a shorter day and a smaller crowd, but the same permit and site plan rules can still apply. A block party on a private lot may need less than a street festival on a closed road.

The Hamtramck Labor Day Festival runs on Joseph Campau with rides, live shows and food, which makes it a street festival with a long day. The units are spread along the street so the food and the rides each have one close by. Smaller neighbourhood events on a closed block are planned the same way, with a unit every short walk along the route.

  • Scale the count to the block and the day
  • Space units along the closed street
  • Check the permit for the street closure
  • Keep the route clear for emergency access
Warning signs

Signs you need festival and street fair restrooms

Keep queues off the road and the emergency access routes, and do not block a unit's door with barriers or stock. Do not wash units down with hoses in a crowd. If a unit is damaged, shut it off from use, tell the event staff and call (888) 351-0294 so a crew can replace or repair it.

  • A festival with a crowd expected in the thousands over a single day or weekend
  • A street fair with food stands and rides on a closed block
  • A stage area where the crowd queues for hours with no toilets nearby
  • An event site plan that has not yet shown where the toilets will go
  • A multi-day event with a single cluster at one gate
  • A neighbourhood street festival with no restroom in the blocks around it
  • An organiser asking for a restroom plan before the permit is filed
Our process

How our festival and street fair restrooms visit works

  1. Get the crowd and the hours

    Give the expected crowd at the peak, the event hours and the number of days. Those set the total count of units and how the cluster is split.

  2. Place the clusters on the site plan

    Clusters go at the main entrances, near the stages and at the far end of the food row, so no one queues across the crowd flow to reach one.

  3. Add accessible units and handwash points

    Each cluster carries an accessible unit as the federal event guidance describes, and food areas get handwash stations beside them.

  4. Plan the service route

    The service truck's route in and out is kept clear of the crowd, and the pump visits are timed for the quiet periods of the day, not the peak.

  5. Monitor and collect

    Stock and cleanliness are checked through the day, and a fault is reported by phone. The units are collected and the waste is pumped by a septage company after the event.

Options

Types and options for festival and street fair restrooms

Festival cluster at a plaza

A block of units grouped at the plaza edges, close to the main stage and the food area. Clusters at a plaza are sized for a large one-day crowd and are checked at the peak.

Street fair along a closed block

Units spaced along the block at intervals, so each food stand and each ride has one within a short walk. This suits the neighbourhood festivals on closed streets.

Multi-day festival site

A larger set of clusters with a service plan that runs across several days, with the pump visits scheduled between sessions. The layout is reviewed each day as the crowd moves.

Need festival and street fair restrooms today?

Call any hour and explain what is going on. You get a clear price before any work starts.

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Wayne County

Why festival and street fair restrooms is different in Wayne County and Metro Detroit

Hart Plaza sits on the Detroit River and draws its crowds from the downtown grid, the riverfront and the bridges. The plaza layout is wide, so the clusters can be spread, but the crowd converges on the stage and the entrances at peak.

Joseph Campau in Hamtramck is a long, narrow commercial street, and a festival there depends on placing units at intervals along the curb rather than in one block. The food and the rides are at opposite ends, so the clusters follow the route between them.

The Detroit Jazz Festival and the Labor Day weekend both fall in early September, a busy stretch of the event season, so the plan allows for long queues on the hottest afternoons.

Related

Parade and Race Restrooms

Portable toilets placed along Detroit parade routes and race courses, at the start, the finish and the points where crowds gather.

Park and Community Event Restrooms

Portable toilets for Detroit park and community events, placed along the paths and beside the picnic areas where the building restrooms are shut.

Handwash Station Rental

Hand washing stations for food vendors and work crews in Detroit, placed beside the toilets so washing is as easy as the restroom.

ADA Accessible Portable Toilets

Accessible portable toilet units for Detroit events, sited in clusters so a wheelchair user can reach one without a long detour.

Where we work

Festival and Street Fair Restrooms across Wayne County

Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.

Guides

Read before you book

Restrooms for Detroit’s Big Event Weekends

Detroit hosts a dense calendar of large events from late spring to early winter, including motorsport, music, a classic-car cruise, a marathon and a holiday parade.

FAQ

Festival and Street Fair Restrooms FAQs

How do I work out the number of units for a festival?

Start from the expected peak crowd, the event hours and the number of vendors and staff. There is no single published Detroit ratio to quote, so the count is planned for the peak and then checked against the site plan and city requirements. The office helps you work it through.

Do I need the toilets on the site plan?

Yes, the city's special events process asks for the toilets to be shown on the site plan for many events. Put each cluster, its position and the route to the service truck on the plan so the reviewers can see it.

Can a festival share its toilets with a nearby building?

Sometimes, but it needs agreement with the building owner and the city. A building restroom is rarely enough for a large crowd, so units are usually planned as well and the building is a supplement.

How often are festival units emptied?

On a schedule set by the crowd and the length of the day. Busy clusters are visited more often, and the service is timed for quieter periods. A fault or a full unit is reported by phone so a visit can be arranged.

Are there accessible units at a festival?

Yes, the federal event guidance suggests about 5 percent of a cluster be accessible, with at least one per cluster. The accessible portable toilets page covers the layout and the route to them in more detail.

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