{"id":6485,"date":"2017-04-30T15:29:44","date_gmt":"2017-04-30T21:29:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/?p=6485"},"modified":"2017-05-01T08:01:38","modified_gmt":"2017-05-01T14:01:38","slug":"lets-pay-pee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2017\/04\/lets-pay-pee.html","title":{"rendered":"Let’s pay to pee!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/doctorow\/2141048886;<\/p>\n

Yes, really.<\/p>\n

According to Steven Chapman\u2019s column in today\u2019s Tribune<\/a>, Alderman David Moore has sponsored a measure in response to a \u201ctoilet emergency\u201d at a Subway, in which a constituent\u00a0needed to go so urgently that she couldn\u2019t wait the time it would take to make a purchase first.<\/p>\n

His measure would compel any licensed business that provides \u201cpublic toilet facilities to its customers\u201d to open them to all \u201cindividuals who have an emergency\u201d without demanding a purchase or charging a fee.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Of course, such a measure would raise all sort of questions: \u00a0how is a business owner or employee to determine whether an individual has an \u201cemergency\u201d or not? \u00a0Would businesses near popular locations, or at events like parades, be compelled to serve as public toilets, unable to even reasonably serve their own customers, and would they shut down for those special events because the burden would be too great? \u00a0Chapman notes that the city has plenty of restrooms in El stations, but they\u2019ve been locked up for decades.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s an easy solution: \u00a0pay toilets. \u00a0They\u2019re the norm in Europe, at least in my experience, whether it\u2019s a bank of toilets where you pay into a vending machine to get through the turnstile (kids small enough to walk under the turnstile get in free), or a cleaning lady who stands guard, and either posts a specific cost or expects tips. \u00a0The cost is typically something like 50 cents, sometimes more, sometimes less.<\/p>\n

And the system works. \u00a0Sure, you have to be sure to have your \u201cpinkelgeld\u201d (pee-money) on hand (though in the year 2017 I\u2019m sure there could be all manner of high-tech ways to pay), but you know you\u2019ll be able to find a restroom, and that you don\u2019t have to worry about whether you\u2019re a paying customer, though in some cases, you\u2019ll pay at the toilet and then get a voucher for a reimbursement if you then do make a purchase, or be able to get a voucher for the restroom when you\u2019re at the register. \u00a0And the restrooms are generally clean and sufficiently-equipped, some even have an automated cleaning cycle after each use.<\/p>\n

Now, I have a vague memory that such restrooms used to exist in the U.S. as well, and a quick web search produced an article, \u201cWhy Don\u2019t We Have Pay Toilets in America?<\/a>\u201d which says that pay toilets did indeed disappear due to a public campaign against them in the 70s, and, indeed, my vague memory is that of my parents giving me the impression, \u201cthis place is so bad you have to pay for the toilets.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, another hit reports that Chicago banned pay toilets in 1973<\/a>, as the first major city to do so, and links to the Chicago Tribune article<\/a> from that date, which further reports that \u201csome aldermen . . . feared a toilet crisis because many establishments may refuse to offer free facilities.\u201d And, of course, they were right.<\/p>\n

Now, it seems that other American cities have re-instituted pay toilets; here are examples in LA<\/a> and Philadelphia<\/a>, which looks particularly shiny and new.<\/p>\n

[updated:]<\/p>\n

Imagine, for instance, that the CTA contracts out the task to an outside vendor, who re-opens the restrooms which Chapman says exist, or existed, in its stations. \u00a0Or consider the Forest Preserves in suburban Chicago, with restrooms which, last time I tried, were locked, or had the water shut off in the middle of the summer \u2013 it would surely be a benefit to re-open these, if the consequence of no-fee toilets is no toilets at all.<\/p>\n

Would this mean that cities would take toilets which already exist, for free, and add a charge for them? \u00a0I suppose it all depends on the degree to which they\u2019re willing to anger the public \u2014 but that\u2019s no different than the ongoing issue, in Chicago in particular, of taking away free on-street parking, or hiking its cost dramatically.<\/p>\n

So, ladies and gentlemen of Chicago, it\u2019s time to end the pay-toilet ban!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Image: \u00a0https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/doctorow\/2141048886; Creative Commons license https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/2.0\/<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yes, really. According to Steven Chapman\u2019s column in today\u2019s Tribune, Alderman David Moore has sponsored a measure in response to a \u201ctoilet emergency\u201d at a Subway, in which a constituent\u00a0needed to go so urgently that she couldn\u2019t wait the time it would take to make a purchase first. His measure would compel any licensed business […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2209,"featured_media":6486,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[33,617],"class_list":["post-6485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-chicago","tag-public-toilets"],"yoast_head":"\nLet's pay to pee!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Yes, really. 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