How many portable toilets does a concert need?
For events on City of San Diego property, the guideline is one toilet per 250 people at peak, with 10 percent accessible. A concert with alcohol, a long program or a lawn crowd usually wants more, and the provider can suggest how many. Venues and other cities may set their own numbers, so ask the permit office.
The headcount that matters is the one on the lawn, not the total ticket count. At a bayside amphitheatre that holds 19,500 to 20,500 depending on the source, the chair seats are close to permanent restrooms, and the lawn crowd of about 10,000 is the group most likely to need extra units.
A smaller show at a park amphitheater, such as Lemon Grove's Berry Street Park, will be governed by that city, not the City of San Diego. Ask the local city office what it expects.
What changes for a multi-day festival?
Units stay on site overnight, servicing visits are planned across days, and the layout must hold up through three or more crowds. Ask the provider about overnight security, refilling handwash tanks and restocking supplies. The plan should list each day separately, with its own peak and its own hours.
A festival that runs three days, like the Mission Bay Fest listed on the city's shoreline calendar, may have a quiet first afternoon and a crowded Saturday night. Arrange for more servicing when the crowd is largest, not evenly each day.
Weather is part of the plan. San Diego has little rain in most months, and about 85 percent of what falls arrives between November and March, according to an older National Weather Service page. A fall festival is seldom washed out, but the provider should still know your rain plan.
How do I prevent long queues before the headliner?
Spread banks around the lawn instead of putting them in one place, keep accessible units at the front of each bank, and tell the provider the headliner's start time. Short walks cut queue length. Add handwash stands at the exits and a volunteer to direct people to the nearest bank.
The worst queue is the one that starts when the previous act ends. People move together, and a single bank at the edge of the lawn cannot take them all. Several banks around the lawn, even small ones, share the load.
A short walk also means guests leave their places less far. That keeps the crowd calmer and protects the sightlines of people who stay in their spots.
Where should accessible units and handwash stands go at a concert?
Place accessible cabins at the front of each bank, on level ground near the accessible viewing area and the accessible parking drop-off, and put a handwash stand at each bank's exit. The City of San Diego guidance calls for level ground, a 2 percent maximum cross-slope and an accessible route, and a lone unit must itself be accessible.
A lawn is rarely perfectly level. Mounds, sprinkler heads and gentle slopes make a cabin tilt, and a wheelchair user needs a firm path across the grass. A mat or a paved strip from the viewing area to the cabin often solves it.
Handwash stands matter more than they seem. After a long set with food and drink, a bank without a sink is a place where hands touch a door, a rail and then the next person's food. Stands also give the queue somewhere to flow.
How should I plan load-in and load-out, and facilities for crews and vendors?
Deliver before gates open and before access roads fill, and collect after the last guests and production trucks leave. Crews and vendors need their own banks away from the audience: Cal/OSHA asks one toilet per 20 employees or fraction, per sex, and county food rules add toilets near booths. Share the load-in schedule with the provider.
Production teams often have exclusive use of a loading route, with a timetable that leaves little room for a rental truck. Ask the venue where the delivery crew should enter and how long it can stay.
Pickup is the part many organizers forget. A festival that finishes at midnight may not allow a truck through until morning, and the quote should say when units will be collected. Ask what happens if the site needs to be clear sooner.
Food vendors add a second rule. County temporary food event guidance asks for one toilet per 15 food employees within 200 feet of the booth, with approved handwashing. A vendor row far from the audience banks may need its own.
