San Francisco Curbs Human Waste With Public Toilets, Security Staff

SAN FRANCISCO—The sidewalks surrounding Ahmed Al Barak’s corner market in one of San Francisco’s roughest neighborhoods are filled with cardboard, used syringes and homeless people who have nowhere safe to go at night.

An attendant exits a "Pit Stop" public toilet on Sixth Street, in San Francisco, on Aug. 1, 2019. Eric Risberg/AP Photo

SAN FRANCISCO—The sidewalks surrounding Ahmed Al Barak’s corner market in one of San Francisco’s roughest neighborhoods are filled with cardboard, used syringes, and homeless people.

But Al Barak says it’s an improvement from a year ago, before the city posted a portable toilet across the street from his business in the city’s Tenderloin district.