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Post by lagatta on Jul 26, 2017 11:12:16 GMT
A recent opinion piece in the Canadian newspaper Globe and Mail (the paper is based in Toronto, but their health reporter André Picard writes from Montréal. www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/when-you-gotta-go-but-theres-no-public-toilet-in-sight/article35782108/We are far from World Toilet Day, the 19th of November, which sounds like potty humour - and its promoters don't shy away from that - in arguing for clean facilities as a human right. www.worldtoiletday.info/We've also had a thread on Dry Toilets, one possible solution to the great amount of water used by toilets (public and private). It is true that in the wintertime, where there are available public facilities certainly influences my walking routes (I walk a lot when I can't cycle). How is the toilet situation for you live, for all sorts of people, disabled, elderly, pregnant, with small children ... homeless and other marginalised people. We've all got to go. This can certainly be an issue when travelling! |
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Post by mossie on Jul 26, 2017 13:24:34 GMT
Strangely enough yesterdays The Times had a piece headlined "Can't afford a loo at home? Then sell your wife."
Apparently this is what a local politician told a local during a meeting trying to persuade people to install sanitation. To quote the article "The confrontation underlines the colossal task of installing sanitation in a nation of 1.2 billion people. More than half of Indians do not have access to a toilet and many consider public defecation more hygienic. In many rural areas the new toilet stands idle while villagers continue to defecate in fields."
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Post by lagatta on Jul 27, 2017 19:32:28 GMT
Of course if they take those practices to more urban areas... By the way, I googled "Best loos in London" (sounded euphonious) and got quite a few hits! However, most list loos in restaurants, bars, cafés and other paying places. There is one about Best free public toilets in London though: www.tripsavvy.com/free-restrooms-in-london-1582899 However there isn't a lot of info. |
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Post by whatagain on Jul 28, 2017 14:10:27 GMT
The toilets I prefer are the ones with a glass door.
There are some in Koeln (or Aachen ?) in a nice tea room. Of course there is trick, that you can see here.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Jul 29, 2017 18:48:01 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 29, 2017 18:58:47 GMT
Paris has installed more than 400 "sanisette" public toilets over the years. They are automatic self-cleaning cubicles and were all changed over the past 5 years to be 100% handicap accessible. 150 of them are accessible 24/24, another 30 are available from 06:00 to 01:00 and the others are open from 06:00 to ZZ:00. All of them are free of charge -- all you have to do is push the button if the light is green.
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Post by lagatta on Jul 30, 2017 16:09:26 GMT
Yes, they are a wonderful innovation. I remember when there was a small fee - really not a lot but some people might simply not have change - nowadays not only the indigent but those who only use debit, credit and other cashless means of payment.
How does the glass lose its transparency when the loo key is turned?
We have nice new "public facilities" at the Jean-Talon market now. They have glass doors but the glass is translucent, not transparent. You can see whether there is an occupant - or, I guess if there are 2 or 3 - but not what they are doing.
K2, when is ZZ;00 - when most people are asleep?
Cheery, the garden centre is reminding people that flowers are sex organs...
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2017 16:16:39 GMT
The absolute worst public toilets I have ever "experienced" were in Mexico and Istanbul.
Virtual holes dug in the ground.
I had to squat as high as I physically could and the stench was so bad that I had keep myself from wrenching nausea.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 30, 2017 17:33:40 GMT
K2, when is ZZ;00 - when most people are asleep?
Oops, that was supposed to be 22:00.
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Post by lagatta on Jul 30, 2017 20:12:05 GMT
Yes, I figured that, but your version was funnier. And a town where people turn in early.
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Post by Kimby on Jul 31, 2017 14:03:23 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 31, 2017 14:18:05 GMT
One good thing about the sanisettes is that they are (slightly) heated, so they are bearable in the winter but certainly not toasty. The first generation even had soft music playing, but somewhere along the line they decided that it was stupid/costly/annoying (choose one or more), so the music is gone. Use is limited to 20 minutes maximum, at which point the door is supposed to slide open automatically. I still do not know if this is an idle threat or if it really happens. I'm sure that some of the homeless know.
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