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Paris - Public outdoor urinals

mdurette

mdurette

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They are a little 'exposed', but public toilets are all over Europe's cities and have been forever. They are just more discrete than these. I see this as an experiment doomed to history's dustbin.

Jim
 
We were just in Paris, but fortunately didn’t see any of these. And fortunately I didn’t have a need for one. One question I thought of is what happens if a guy is too tall or too short in height? LOL
 
We missed them in June if they were open then. Seems a little dirty to me.
 
Well, until you've been out in Europe (or the islands for that matter) around closing time, you may not have witnessed this issue.
The problem does exist..... Making many of the public toilets 'pay for use' didn't help.
 
I really don't see a problem here. In a large city with a significant homeless population and (as is common in Europe)- pay toilets or 'For Patrons ONLY' signs in businesses, this beats having people urinating on trees in parks, or in alleys or doorways. Sure- the photo in the article of one overlooking the Seine and a tourist bus/boat is a bit much, but these are new (there are only 3 of them) and if they can't be found by users, there is no point to the experiment. My biggest beef is that there is no plumbing and someone has to empty the straw on some schedule. THAT seems gross!
 
And women are supposed to go....where?
 
Several years ago in Toulouse I saw something similar in concept anyway. It was a little like a restroom stall except it covered from about the knees up to about the armpits. There was a drain area on the pavement. I suppose in a pinch a woman could find a way to make that variety work but I chose not to try ;). And I remember several decades ago walking through the garment district in downtown LA. Every alley I passed smelled of urine. I think something like this located discreetly would be a big improvement.
 
am1 said:
If you read the article, these free up real washrooms for women.
Click to expand...

But women have to pay or tip (frequently).
Whereas, some guys would use a lamp post or fire hydrant.
It's all in the plumbing.
.
 
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On a trip through the French country side we stopped at public rest rooms at the side of the road. They were set back in some attractive bushes and landscaping. A bus full of French people stopped and they unloaded. The women went into the restrooms (without regard for whether they were male or female) and the men all just unzipped and peed onto the bushes! We were quite shocked but it was nothing to them. Cultures differ and to them this was perfectly normal. They didn't try to hide behind the bushes and seemed to have no thought of modesty.
 
In Cordes, France (a fortified hilltown), there's a restroom built into the city wall.
It's unisex and open door... Women walk past a line of urinals to get to the stalls.
I used the one furthest from the door.
 
VacationForever said:
Er... kind of expensive to throw away after one use and I aint carrying that thing around in my pocket after using. I guess it is good for emergencies. I hate public potter potties and refuse to use them. This may be a good thing to carry around in a handback in case potter potties are the only rest rooms that are available.
Click to expand...

Rinse with a bit of water, Put it in a zip lock, and wash it when you get somewhere. That is what I read on one of the reviews. It was actually created for women who had hip or knee surgery and couldn't get down for the business. But hikers and others have found a use for it.
 
rleigh said:
Not surprising. Paris, like a few other once-grand European cities, is slowly turning into a cell pool.
Click to expand...

What was a truly a "cell pool" was living in the "grand European cities" in an age before modern plumbing, when sewage ran openly in the streets, and age expectancy was about 35. Sorry, but I'd rather have some open air urinals rather than live in that gilded-age.

People always seem to think that "things" were grander in the past and are in the process degenerating or de-evolving. There has always been negative aspects in any society. That is nothing unusual or new. But in fact, these "grand cities" have evolved from a feudal system run by monarchs with no care for humanity, life, liberty or social justice, thru the rise of democratic institutions and cultural advancements (including sewers, and cell phones) to the point where citizens have never had so much freedom to live their lives relative freedom, health and prosperity.

Avert your eyes to whatever offends you.
.
 
LOL. The Europeans and as far as that goes, the rest of the world, are not nearly as prudish as Americans. They tend to look more at practicality than what “looks” good. I have seen things far worse than this in many civilized countries that people don’t even think twice about!
 
I'll comment on one thing: Memories of being in a rather popular restaurant in Germany. Popular with tourists; many of them Americans......
We were well-familiar with the location of the toilette after a few lagers: down a steep set of stone spiral stairs...across a long, poorly-lit narrow hallway...and back up another set of stairs into the facilities. They were shared with several other establishments and were unisex, but some of the 'stalls' were nicely finished and had glass doors etc... The 'nice' units were normally intended for elders, women, those with kids etc...something obvious to the locals, but not the tourists.

It was always so much fun to watch the 'typical American tourist' when the staff at the restaurant attempted to explain the location of the WC and the amazed looks on the faces of the tourists. "Down there?" "Down those steps?" And then, in the actual toilette, the stunned look (I can think of no other way to put it) when the women and men walked into the common facility. Don't get me wrong, it was all white tile--all white and chrome--with wooden trim. It was hospital-clean in there.

It was always quite difficult not to laugh out loud when the cleaning lady would come in during the eh, 'festivities' and begin to clean while the stunned American at the urinal tried to stammer something in pigeon about 'ocupado' or 'busy' with a bad accent. Not sure why they thought German cleaning staff speak Spanish.... Anyway....it was always a hoot. Not to mention the dirty looks the staff gave the tourist men who were peeing standing-up in the 'nice rooms' instead of using the urinals.

Funny stuff...geography joke I suppose...you had to be there. Hard to see things through different eyes sometimes...
 
am1 said:
If you read the article, these free up real washrooms for women.
Click to expand...

Free up wash rooms. That makes no sense. If guys were using wash rooms in the first place the whole problem of men peeing in public spaces would not exist thus no need for the public pee pee box.
 
Talent312 said:
In Cordes, France (a fortified hilltown), there's a restroom built into the city wall.
It's unisex and open door... Women walk past a line of urinals to get to the stalls.
I used the one furthest from the door.
Click to expand...
Similar experience at a castle that I visited as part of a tour. There were about twenty-eight people in the tour. Upon exiting the castle after about a two to three hour tour, being senior citizens, we all needed to use the facilities. In this case, it was a set of urinals against a wall along a hallway. At each end of the hallway, there was a single person, unisex, restroom. As you can imagine, the time it would have taken for all twenty eight of us to use the closed door restrooms was going to be quite lengthy. Finally, one of the men decided just to use one of the urinals in full view. Most of the rest of the men including myself decided to follow suit.

We all survived. None of us lost our American passports. The women in the group, rather than being offended, were quite thankful to have the entire process of attending to our needs expedited.
 
jehb2 said:
Free up wash rooms. That makes no sense. If guys were using wash rooms in the first place the whole problem of men peeing in public spaces would not exist thus no need for the public pee pee box.
Click to expand...

Think of it as an admission that there aren’t enough public facilities for the number of people in the city.


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