How about two big old-fashioned bathrooms, with space for sixty or so (plumbing configuration suited to gender, of course) with paid attendants and security? Keep them open 24/7. It would give people jobs, and it would at least help ease an age-old problem in the area.
And Do the same thing up north in Belltown, and put one in Westlake somewhere.
@3 That security would have to be SPD officers, or it'll just be another bus tunnel waiting to happen.
These public restrooms have to be free in order to be effective, but that will also attract transients and drug dealers. No one is going to drop trou if they think they are going to be assaulted. (Hmm. With that requirement, not sure SPD is the best option either.)
We should certainly be thankful for the requent natural rinse we receive.
Besides first providing more places to go, the penalty should be time on the cleanup crew. They could be a part of the solution and I think cleaning up a few piles and having to power wash piss soaked alleys would really communicate the severity of the problem. For most people a monetary fine that is not very likely is not much of a deterant.
I once took my entire class on a walking tour of derelict Victorian-era public urinals in Berlin. We should put some of those in, they're pretty sweet.
I have run around and around the Pioneer Square area looking for an easily accessible public restroom while desperately holding it in, most recently on a visit in January. The basement of Elliot Bay Books used to be my go to, and now that's gone. Recommendations? I ended up begging the code at starbucks.
Does anybody else get sick and tired of hearing downtown and especially Pioneer Square businesses crying all the fucking time? I know I sure do. Hire security assholes.
@21 those things in Amsterdam are beyond stinky and gross, sort of like a plastic version of the old pissoirs in Paris (long gone, thank god)where you had to hold your breath for the entire block to avoid nausea. As I recall the ones in Amsterdam are in little clusters for an expecially unpleasant experience in an otherwise especially pleasant city.
@23: Eh, the lack of public facilities IS a continuing problem, as was the problem of no-security public bathrooms being used to shoot up in, blood squirting about.
Perhaps it's possible to have a solution that doesn't invoke the latter?
Yes, especially when this solution could be solved by the businesses themselves, by opening up their bathrooms to patrons*, at minimum, or, at maximum, by ponying up money themselves to set up public facilities for all to use.
But obviously the city has to solve the problem for them.
*I've had the misfortune of having a full bladder while in Pioneer Square, and many businesses there, including food service businesses, will not even let patrons use the bathroom under any circumstances. It's a major reason why I only go to that neighborhood under duress.
Is there any real solution to the problem? The city spent a whole load of money on futuristic restrooms on Broadway and had to sell it at a loss because all it was being used for was a place where druggies could do their drug thing. I don't see a solution.
Open air simplicity from a couple centuries ago... We do love Amsterdammmm... http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&biw=7… ://members.virtualtourist.com/m/p/m/20407e/&docid=66_daumYRCqadM&imgurl=http://cache.virtualtourist.com/4/4915286-pissoir_Amsterdam.jpg&w=658&h=492&ei=4LpiT5uMBqWaiQKb1MXYCQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=156&vpy=55&dur=2818&hovh=194&hovw=260&tx=125&ty=177&sig=118155214471027778405&page=1&tbnh=100&tbnw=125&start=0&ndsp=11&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0
@21, etc.: there is still an old-fashioned 19th c. pissoir in Sydney, under the Harbour Bridge at the northern tip of the Rocks: http://www.sydneyarchitecture.com/ROC/RO…
Although half of it is from neighborhood dogs.
And Do the same thing up north in Belltown, and put one in Westlake somewhere.
"These are believed to be the world's mo…
They were closed and capped over after WWII - "capped over" implies they're still down there.
These public restrooms have to be free in order to be effective, but that will also attract transients and drug dealers. No one is going to drop trou if they think they are going to be assaulted. (Hmm. With that requirement, not sure SPD is the best option either.)
We should certainly be thankful for the requent natural rinse we receive.
I bought a mug warmer from Bed, Bath, and Beyond, which is basically a tiny hot plate the size of a mug.
Goodbye lukewarm; Hello Toasty! It's the thing of miracles.
Most impressive stat: 153,655 leaves that they picked up according to their activity report.
Isn't the public restroom at the Market staffed to some degree?
I say we try to find them. Who is up for it?
http://edinburghnapiernews.com/2010/11/2…
Well, how about half of them do it, anyway. Pretty freakin' efficient, if you ask me.
Perhaps it's possible to have a solution that doesn't invoke the latter?
Yes, especially when this solution could be solved by the businesses themselves, by opening up their bathrooms to patrons*, at minimum, or, at maximum, by ponying up money themselves to set up public facilities for all to use.
But obviously the city has to solve the problem for them.
*I've had the misfortune of having a full bladder while in Pioneer Square, and many businesses there, including food service businesses, will not even let patrons use the bathroom under any circumstances. It's a major reason why I only go to that neighborhood under duress.
And they've just built brand new ones in heavily pissed-on neighborhoods, i.e., King's Cross etc.: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sy…