THE WOODLANDS, Texas – After several public meetings, The Woodlands Township chose Thursday to scratch the idea of a public restroom project in the Capstone Neighborhood Park.
The vote from the township comes after a large majority of residents spoke out against the restroom.
Dozens of people spoke out Thursday during the public comment section of a board meeting, not one spoke in favor of the restrooms at the park.
Many of the residents who spoke out cited concerns over crime, drainage and unwanted traffic.
The unanimous decision to scratch the project was met with a standing ovation from mostly everyone in the room.
Ann Perry, whose been at the forefront of the restroom debate, even got up to thank the board personally.
“Unbelievable, I can’t believe that they listened to us. We got together, we organized, we had a petition. I think over 650 signatures. I’m just thankful,” Perry said.
Speaker after speaker came up, each one laying out their concerns.
“I walked away with some significant concerns related to the environmental impact of this project,” one person said.
“I think there’s some unintended outcomes that’s a possibility here that would be really hurtful to us,” another concerned citizen said.
The idea of the project initially came up in August of 2022. The project itself comes with several upgrades, but the restroom has brought about the most concerns and opposition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for The Woodlands Township said in part, “The Woodlands Township board of directors will reallocate funding approved for the restrooms at Capstone Park to other improvement projects in the 2022 Parks and Recreation Needs Assessment.”
As for where specifically the funding for this project will be used, KPRC 2 was told that township staff will return with specific recommendations during the budget process.