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This is totally ridiculous. People stuck in crowded environments may need to go while on a train, and take 10 or 20 minutes to find a station to stop, another 10 or 20 minutes to find a restroom in public near the station, and this assumes they are even there. In my opinion, a civilized society which condemns "public urination" should not force people to wait more than 30 minutes or so. This discourages public transit usage and discourages drinking water. Obesity and dehydration are both public health problems and this lack of access to toilets is absolutely a disgrace.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,585 posts, read 81,206,701 times
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Inadequate? It's non-existent here. The park & ride garages have a restroom - for the drivers, with locked door. Bus stops have none, even the bus/light rail tunnel through downtown Seattle has none. This was intentional, because any public restrooms tend to attract the homeless, druggies shooting up, and other undesirable activities. The solutions tried in the past have always failed, including the expensive self-cleaning restrooms of 2004-2008.
Sometimes it feels like America has a disdain for public life altogether. Not that all other countries do better, but public restrooms are not all that common here. SEPTA (Philly) has a bathroom in some of its stations, but only in the larger ones like Suburban, 30th street, Jefferson. None in any of the subways/El stations that I know of, much less bus stops (haha, right).
But go to public places in the US. Rarely are there public bathrooms, UNLESS there is adequate retail nearby or you paid to get in someplace. In other words, I hope you don't have to go to the bathroom if you're in public and aren't near a place that sells stuff.
Sometimes it feels like America has a disdain for public life altogether. Not that all other countries do better, but public restrooms are not all that common here. SEPTA (Philly) has a bathroom in some of its stations, but only in the larger ones like Suburban, 30th street, Jefferson. None in any of the subways/El stations that I know of, much less bus stops (haha, right).
But go to public places in the US. Rarely are there public bathrooms, UNLESS there is adequate retail nearby or you paid to get in someplace. In other words, I hope you don't have to go to the bathroom if you're in public and aren't near a place that sells stuff.
In Europe, that holy bastion, you often have to pay for a toilet. https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-ti.../toilet-tricks "Paying to use a public WC is a European custom that irks many Americans. But isn’t it really worth a few coins, considering the cost of water, maintenance, and cleanliness? And you’re probably in no state to argue, anyway. Sometimes the toilet is free, but the person in the corner sells sheets of toilet paper. Most common is the tip dish by the entry — the local equivalent of about 50 cents is plenty.
Finding a Public Restroom
I once dropped a tour group off in a town for a potty stop, and when I picked them up 20 minutes later, none had found relief. Locating a decent public toilet can be frustrating. But with a few tips, you can sniff out a biffy in a jiffy."
In Europe, that holy bastion, you often have to pay for a toilet. https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-ti.../toilet-tricks "Paying to use a public WC is a European custom that irks many Americans. But isn’t it really worth a few coins, considering the cost of water, maintenance, and cleanliness? And you’re probably in no state to argue, anyway. Sometimes the toilet is free, but the person in the corner sells sheets of toilet paper. Most common is the tip dish by the entry — the local equivalent of about 50 cents is plenty.
Finding a Public Restroom
I once dropped a tour group off in a town for a potty stop, and when I picked them up 20 minutes later, none had found relief. Locating a decent public toilet can be frustrating. But with a few tips, you can sniff out a biffy in a jiffy."
Plus much more. I've gone over my allotment.
SOME Americans - I'm totally showing my age here - lived in the age of pay toilets, which required a dime to use.
Inadequate? It's non-existent here. The park & ride garages have a restroom - for the drivers, with locked door. Bus stops have none, even the bus/light rail tunnel through downtown Seattle has none. This was intentional, because any public restrooms tend to attract the homeless, druggies shooting up, and other undesirable activities. The solutions tried in the past have always failed, including the expensive self-cleaning restrooms of 2004-2008.
SOME Americans - I'm totally showing my age here - lived in the age of pay toilets, which required a dime to use.
I remember those too, at the dime store in my hometown. For having to pay, they were in pretty poor repair. Also, my hometown in PA is old enough that not all restaurants even had a restroom.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,585 posts, read 81,206,701 times
Reputation: 57821
Quote:
Originally Posted by freemkt
SOME Americans - I'm totally showing my age here - lived in the age of pay toilets, which required a dime to use.
I remember pay toilets at the Greyhound bus station in San Francisco, about 1971 where a cop dropped us off after picking us up on the elevated freeway (where a guy let us off hitchhiking from Cloverdale).
They were not 10 cents, though, it cost a quarter.
It takes only a handful of people making a mess or using them for unintended purposes to ruin what would otherwise be a nice thing for everyone.
You can have a primitive public restroom on a hiking trail and it'll be largely fine even if it's only cleaned out once a week at best, meanwhile one downtown will be constantly gross despite multiple-times-a-day cleaning.
Last edited by ALackOfCreativity; 06-11-2017 at 08:26 PM..
Reason: grammar
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