Urban Bathrooms, European Style

[Metro Jacksonville]

Urban Bathrooms, European Style



 Today, finding a bathroom in an emergency downtown can be as problematic as finding a whale fisherman in Kansas. While one might be convinced that they exist in theory, the reality might be a series of disappointments.

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http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/760

[reednavy]

I'm sorry, but wtf?

[second_pancake]

I agree...wtf???  This kind of just came out of nowhere, eh?

Anywho, like the bathroom idea but something tells me that FBCJ wouldn't be too thrilled about an image of a little boy holding his whoo-hoo at the "pissoir", lol.

[Driven1]

could this not just be another place for "lewd & lascivious behavior"? 

i would think as little as homeless plaza..er, hemming plaza is patrolled right now, this would be like adding fuel to the fire.

[thelakelander]

I can't image the "pissoir" going over well here in Jacksonville or any where else in the state.  If there is a problem, how do other US cities handle them?  What ever the Indianapolis', Charlotte's, NYC's of the country are doing about public restroom facilities would most likely be a more realistic solution than what's allowed in Europe.  For example, in Savannah's Forsyth Park, they have port-a-pottys adjacent to the main pedestrian walk, but setback far enough to the point of where its not a visual distraction.  They also have police on bike patrol.

[downtownparks]

This does sorta seem out of left field, and I agree, we have a hard enough time keeping the bathrooms in our library's and parks safe and clean... I cant even imagine what would happen in a stand alone unit.

[estate4]

So no one thinks that a single-person unit in a reasonable public area that would be cleaner and larger than a porta-pottie would work? Most of these units in Europe and other cities charge a few bits of shrapnel to enter. Seems a bit more reasonable to enforce payment for use instead of having a bike police man a porta-pottie, right?

[thelakelander]

Far point, estate4.  Personally, I've never had problems using the restroom downtown, but if there are facilities they should be only located in public parks.  There's already public restrooms on the Southbank and Northbank riverwalks, Metropolitan Park and Confederate Park.  Is the main issue here, having something in Hemming Plaza?

[Jimmy]

Yikes.

[Downtown Dweller]

As a mother with young children, I would for sure pay to use one of these! Some change is cheaper than buying lunch or even a drink somewhere to use the bathroom, and if there was a charge then we wouldn’t have to wait 30 minutes while people were lined up to bathe, like at the library. I would pay happily!

[blizz01]

I saw something similar (pay restrooms) in San Francisco a few weeks backs - they were in full utilization.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that the "little boy peeing" is a silhouette of Manneken Pis - one of the most famous statues in Europe (Brussels, Belgium)...........

[JeffreyS]

Didn't somebody post video of a Japanese game show about this?

All kidding aside the first pic is a joke but the others looked like a good idea. I like the ones that look like a row of Johnny on the spots with room for only one at a time.

[Steve]

I do have to wonder where the first pic came from - it looks like a standard bathroom stall with no bathroom around it.

With that said, I've used ones similar to the last two in Ireland, and they were pretty clean.  In fact, in Ireland, there is a time limit on you.  they give you warnings, then after like 15-20 minutes, the door just opens (a bit weird, but I understand it).  I think they were self cleaning as well.

I'd be okay with them in a public place, as long as they were watched by some sort of security guard.

[Driven1]

they give you warnings, then after like 15-20 minutes, the door just opens

now that, i would pay like $2 to see happen to someone...that is funny.

[thelakelander]

I do have to wonder where the first pic came from - it looks like a standard bathroom stall with no bathroom around it.

With that said, I've used ones similar to the last two in Ireland, and they were pretty clean.  In fact, in Ireland, there is a time limit on you.  they give you warnings, then after like 15-20 minutes, the door just opens (a bit weird, but I understand it).  I think they were self cleaning as well.

Wow.  That helps solves a lot of potential problems.

I'd be okay with them in a public place, as long as they were watched by some sort of security guard.

Ultimately, downtown has a lot of needs, wants and desires with limited funds to make them happen.  Outside of Hemming Plaza and an occassional pocket park or two, I don't know if the need for such a contraption should become a higher priority over things like lighting or wayfaring signage.