4 ms·

Yeah the bathroom thing is another thing I don't get. Why is the US so stingy with public bathrooms? I don't even drink alcohol and I've actually had to pee on

by dheera 3y ago

Yeah the bathroom thing is another thing I don't get. Why is the US so stingy with public bathrooms? I don't even drink alcohol and I've actually had to pee on the road multiple times because I couldn't find a bathroom, and the only bathrooms within walking distance were "customers only" (at least for men; women usually get to use them in anecdotal experience). In Europe and Asia I've never had a situation in an urban area where there wasn't an easily accessible public bathroom within a couple blocks. People in SF complain about piss on the ground. Yet I've had to piss on the ground waiting 45 minutes for the Caltrain because the goddamn Caltrain bathrooms were closed for the rest of the night and the Panera next door wouldn't let me use theirs. What do you expect?

SllX 3y ago
Safeway was always the go to bathroom spot over there. Dunno if it still is, but if it’s any consolation, the Panera is dead.
_moof 3y ago
> the only bathrooms within walking distance were "customers only" They don't want homeless people using them.
- dheera 3y ago
  Don't they realize that human bodies need to excrete waste and if you don't give them a designated place to do it, it's going to come out on the street? And then the same people who refuse restroom access complain about shit and pee on the street? This isn't rocket science.
  - xcrunner529 3y ago
    Someone has to clean them too and you clearly don’t realize how trashy people ruin things. And for some reason we seem to tolerate those breaking social contracts and homeless drug users messing things up instead of dealing with it. It sucks but it’s not a young minimum wage worker’s primary job.
Symbiote 3y ago
In Europe and Asia, there's always a toilet (usually one per carriage) on a middle or longer distance train. It's only urban trains and metros that don't have them — on these, the expectation is that you use a toilet in the station, and the train is so frequent it doesn't matter if you miss one. The Brightline website says their trains in Florida have toilets, I don't see why California would be any different.
swasheck 3y ago
i’m currently in paris where the only “public” WC in the train stations still require payment and none of the stops between terminals on the RER seem to have had public restrooms on the platforms. it feels quite similar to my home city in the US. i find there to be quite a few things to love about Europe over the US, but the idea of toileting as superior in Europe than in the US strikes me as odd. colloquially, i chalk it up to travel/cultural anxiety and stress because i can find a place/way to toilet in SF, NYC, or Orlando far more easily than in Paris, Florence, or Frankfurt
- shiroiushi 3y ago
  Come to Japan if you want to see truly superior public toileting. Not only are public toilets numerous and easily accessible (even in parks), they're free, clean, and usually have washlets installed.
- swasheck 3y ago
  this has been helpful whilst walking through the city, though https://www.paris.fr/pages/les-sanisettes-2396 https://www.paris.fr/pages/les-sanisettes-2396
fmobus 3y ago
As someone living in Germany, I have no idea what you're talking about. Paid public toilets are the norm overwhelmingly here, and even then the offer is minimal. The famous Berlin new main station, while gorgeous and modern, has 1 (one) facility, with 5 or 6 stalls per gender. Many train stations have nothing.
- dheera 3y ago
  I guess it depends on the city. I found no lack of public restrooms in Zurich for example https://www.maps.stadt-zuerich.ch/zueriplan3/Stadtplan.aspx?#route_visible=true&basemap=Stadtplan&map=&scale=64000&xkoord=2684543.7619809955&ykoord=1240666.0423263009&lang=&layer=Z%C3%BCriWC&window=&selectedObject=&selectedLayer=&toggleScreen=&legacyUrlState=&drawings= https://www.maps.stadt-zuerich.ch/zueriplan3/Stadtplan.aspx?... I found plenty of free toilets in Amsterdam and Copenhagen and plenty of pay toilets in Stockholm and Oslo. In Germany I usually looked for supermarkets, train stations, fast food restaurants, but come to think of it, Germany was harder.

by dheera 3y ago

SllX 3y ago

Safeway was always the go to bathroom spot over there. Dunno if it still is, but if it’s any consolation, the Panera is dead.

_moof 3y ago

> the only bathrooms within walking distance were "customers only" They don't want homeless people using them.

dheera 3y ago
Don't they realize that human bodies need to excrete waste and if you don't give them a designated place to do it, it's going to come out on the street? And then the same people who refuse restroom access complain about shit and pee on the street? This isn't rocket science.
- xcrunner529 3y ago
  Someone has to clean them too and you clearly don’t realize how trashy people ruin things. And for some reason we seem to tolerate those breaking social contracts and homeless drug users messing things up instead of dealing with it. It sucks but it’s not a young minimum wage worker’s primary job.

Symbiote 3y ago

In Europe and Asia, there's always a toilet (usually one per carriage) on a middle or longer distance train. It's only urban trains and metros that don't have them — on these, the expectation is that you use a toilet in the station, and the train is so frequent it doesn't matter if you miss one. The Brightline website says their trains in Florida have toilets, I don't see why California would be any different.

swasheck 3y ago

i’m currently in paris where the only “public” WC in the train stations still require payment and none of the stops between terminals on the RER seem to have had public restrooms on the platforms. it feels quite similar to my home city in the US. i find there to be quite a few things to love about Europe over the US, but the idea of toileting as superior in Europe than in the US strikes me as odd. colloquially, i chalk it up to travel/cultural anxiety and stress because i can find a place/way to toilet in SF, NYC, or Orlando far more easily than in Paris, Florence, or Frankfurt

shiroiushi 3y ago
Come to Japan if you want to see truly superior public toileting. Not only are public toilets numerous and easily accessible (even in parks), they're free, clean, and usually have washlets installed.
swasheck 3y ago
this has been helpful whilst walking through the city, though https://www.paris.fr/pages/les-sanisettes-2396 https://www.paris.fr/pages/les-sanisettes-2396

fmobus 3y ago

As someone living in Germany, I have no idea what you're talking about. Paid public toilets are the norm overwhelmingly here, and even then the offer is minimal. The famous Berlin new main station, while gorgeous and modern, has 1 (one) facility, with 5 or 6 stalls per gender. Many train stations have nothing.

dheera 3y ago
I guess it depends on the city. I found no lack of public restrooms in Zurich for example https://www.maps.stadt-zuerich.ch/zueriplan3/Stadtplan.aspx?#route_visible=true&basemap=Stadtplan&map=&scale=64000&xkoord=2684543.7619809955&ykoord=1240666.0423263009&lang=&layer=Z%C3%BCriWC&window=&selectedObject=&selectedLayer=&toggleScreen=&legacyUrlState=&drawings= https://www.maps.stadt-zuerich.ch/zueriplan3/Stadtplan.aspx?... I found plenty of free toilets in Amsterdam and Copenhagen and plenty of pay toilets in Stockholm and Oslo. In Germany I usually looked for supermarkets, train stations, fast food restaurants, but come to think of it, Germany was harder.