The following editorial appeared in the September 26 edition of the Guelph Mercury:
Opponents of the downtown urinals pilot project were likely disgusted at the early returns on the so-called pissoir project.
After all, for folks who felt they either weren’t needed or weren’t a potential remedy worth trying, it’s probably somewhat off-putting to learn that in their first three weeks, the units have collected more than 2,400 litres of urine. The science behind the calculations isn’t clear—nor is anyone calling for it to be spelled out. But the estimate is that this volume of urine represents about 6,000 trips to the pissoirs.
So what to make of the staggering urine stats?
It’s worth noting that even proponents of the pilot project are surprised at the high volume captured. Likewise, it’s of note that this camp is also being cautious about making any conclusions about the need for the units based on this data.
No doubt some of the use of the stalls has been related to the novelty of them. As well, stakeholders in this issue have noted their deployment hasn’t eliminated people urinating in other outdoor downtown locations during the same period.
These outdoor washrooms have received a lot of urine. It’s doubtful as much would have been deposited in downtown storefronts and the like had they not been available.
As was made abundantly clear before their roll-out, they’re also not an option for females and for many disabled people. They’ve also attracted some mischief, vandalism and minor thefts. Is anyone startled at that?
We’re encouraged at word the city is mulling additional avenues to address this problem—ones that don’t enable many of these creating the issue. We look forward to proposed measures such as having bars keeping open to provide washroom access and heightened public fouling fines getting further political consideration.
And, we’ll await the final report on the pissoirs project. At least we know now suggestions that no one would dare use the things were wildly incorrect.