1. Public Washrooms

3. TTC washroom

4. From The Toronto Star … Better to just hold it at TTC pit stops (Published by Toronto Star on March 10, 2008 4:30 AM) JACK LAKEY/TORONTO STAR The toilet paper dispensers in two of the three stalls in the men’s washroom at the Finch TTC station have been torn from the wall — and not recently by the look of them. When you’re on the subway and you gotta go, you may not want to go in a TTC washroom. Of all the public washrooms in the city, it is unlikely any are used more often - and show more wear and tear - than the privies scattered throughout the TTC’s 69 stations. With 1.5 million riders on weekdays, the number of pit stops in them is astounding to contemplate. It adds up to a whole lot of flushing, at least by those who bother. We’ve had dozens of complaints about TTC washrooms dating back to 2004, ranging from broken fixtures, mounds of litter, pee puddles on grime-crusted floors and stomach-turning odours, particularly at Yonge-Bloor, which defies all efforts to purge it of smells, even daily hosing with a power washer. Before taking the TTC to task, a finger needs to be pointed at the culprits responsible for most of the problems - the riders. It’s clear that people do business differently in a public washroom than they would at home. How else to explain the unspeakable messes we’ve all occasionally stumbled across? “Some of them are disgusting, they really are,” concedes Gary Shortt, the TTC’s superintendent of plant maintenance. “Part of the problem is the customers, but it’s our responsibility to keep them clean no matter what people do. “If you walk in and the tap doesn’t work, maybe they beat the hell out of everything else in there.” In visiting washrooms for our series on TTC stations, we observed a large variation in cleanliness. Several we went to yesterday were mostly free of litter, not particularly plagued by powerful pungency, and were blessed with taps and toilets that worked. During the afternoon rush on weekdays, it’s often a more gruesome story. But riders needing to sit in a stall in the men’s room at Finch station had better hope to win the toilet paper lottery. Of the three stalls, the toilet paper dispenser in one was fully loaded, while the other two had been torn from the wall - and not recently, by the look of them. Anyone who hurried into the other two and took a load off their feet before checking on the supply would be out of luck. STATUS: While short-term problems will continue to plague the washrooms, the long-term plan shows relief is in store. Over the past year, tap and toilet fixtures have been converted to an automated design, “so there’s nothing to push,” said Shortt. “People didn’t like to touch the flush handle so they used their foot and broke off the handles,” he said, adding that repair calls to washrooms have since decreased by 60 per cent. A six-year capital plan is in place to refurbish the washrooms, with $800,000 to be spent in 2009, and $1.2 million annually through 2013, which will eventually make them more welcoming.

7. Roman public toilet

8. Micro-organisms in Public Washrooms By Dr. Charles Gerba The data on public washrooms contamination shows how often and how easily specific high-contact washroom surfaces can be contaminated. Although Americans tend to pride themselves on their personal hygiene and clean toilet facilities, there has been remarkably little research into hygiene practices or microbial contamination of public washrooms. Using recent advances in microbiology, we now have more efficient tools for tracing, documenting, and identifying the presence of microorganisms in the washroom. Our research has focused on a bacterial sampling of public washrooms to enable us to develop an understanding of the washroom sites that pose the greatest risk of contamination to patrons and employees. Research indicates that as many as 50 percent of all Americans do not wash their hands before leaving the washroom, thereby increasing the risk of contaminating themselves and others. Microorganisms-bacteria viruses, and parasites-can enter the body easily through hand-to-mouth or hand-to-food contact. This is of critical importance to food handlers, food service patrons, and hospital employees and patients because these germs, especially coliform bacteria, are usually indicators of fecal contamination, such as E. coli. Even when the bathroom looks clean, it may not be so from the standpoint of microbial contamination. In a recent study, we found, for example that 15 percent of the toilet seats in quick-serve restaurant wash-rooms in the Tucson area were contaminated with coliform bacteria. Although Americans do not appear to suffer wide-spread epidemics of infection, 9,000 people in this country die of bacterial food poisoning each year. Infectious diseases can be spread at a lower level of microbial contamination than was previously thought. What most people call ”stomach flu" is likely to be a mild food poisoning, usually from a common bacterium like salmonella or staphylococcus. And a likely route of transmission is in the washroom-everything from the toilet paper dispenser to the hot water tap. While anyone can get sick from this kind of contamination, up to 25 percent of the population is at heightened risk of illness and even death.

9. Self-Cleaning washroom

11. Self-Cleaning Toilet - $1 Coming soon: A public toilet, fully sterilized, for $1 Posted: June 09, 2008, 6:46 PM by Rob Roberts By Allison Hanes, National Post Sleek new benches, bus shelters and garbage cans will start gracing Toronto street corners by the end of the month, but by next summer a fixture of an entirely different kind will appear on the urban landscape: public loos. The public toilets will cost a loonie and be equipped with a system that automatically sterilizes the floors, sinks and toilets after each use. “Those are like the ones you’d see in Paris or Berlin … where you need to put a dollar to get in,” said Luc Sabbatini, president of Astral Media Outdoor, a division of the Canadian media company that won a bid to supply Toronto with $1-billion worth of street furniture over the next two decades. “They’re very modern, very expensive, all in stainless steel. They clean themselves automatically once you leave the washroom.” Twenty of the self-cleaning washrooms are set to land on Toronto streets, and Councillor Michael Thompson (Scarborough Centre) said he is hopeful they will be part of the solution to Toronto’s bathroom blues. “The facilities clearly are aesthetically pleasing, they’re clean, they’re washed after each use, which I think is necessary,” said Mr. Thompson. “And also, there isn’t an impact on businesses to provide washroom facilities for non-paying customers for example.” Mr. Thompson is one of two city councillors who have recently complained about Toronto’s public bathrooms. Councillor Howard Moscoe (Eglinton Lawrence) has recently lobbied for more plentifully available facilities, especially in places where seniors shop like pharmacies. After sitting on a panel examining the future of tourism, Mr. Thompson has said the state of the toilets range from deplorable to simply inadequate. “Some of our park facilities are absolutely atrocious. And some of our subway facilities are absolutely most unpleasant,” he said. “In some cases in the downtown core, you have to have the keys to enter the washroom, because the business owners are saying… ‘I’m providing a service and you’re contributing to my expense but you’re not supporting my business.’ I see that, but at the same time, we also have to make facilities available for the public to be able to utilize when the need arises.’’ Astral Media will instal 26,000 fixtures ranging from newspaper boxes to bike racks in public spaces under a 20-year-contract with the city that will allow the company to reap the profits of advertisements on some of the furniture. In addition to providing the washrooms, which use the sterilizing system pioneered by the British WC provider Danfo, Astral will be responsible for maintaining the public infrastructure – including the bathrooms. “There’s a 1-800 quality line. We have people there 24/7,” said Mr. Sabbatini. “So if ever there’s a problem with a public washroom within minutes we will receive a call and we will fix whatever is the problem.” He promised graffiti would be removed from bathrooms, bus shelters or benches within 24 hours of being discovered. Mayor David Miller called the deal with Astral the biggest public-private partnership ever in Canada, to his knowledge, and the second-biggest contract for street furniture in North America, after New York City. But although the project is financed by advertising revenue, Mr. Miller said there will actually be fewer ads on city street furniture. “Before the new street furniture there was advertising on garbage, or litter receptacles. There will be no more advertising on litter receptacles. And there was advertising on park benches. There will be no more advertisements on park benches,” he said. “The only advertisements will be on the [bus shelters and] information pillars, which have tourist information on one side and ads on the others, that will be the only advertisement.”

12. Not your typical public washroom, this project for the City of Toronto brings lightness to a utilitarian space. Robust materials such as stainless steel, granite and terrazzo were chosen for their easy maintenance and durability. Brought together in a unique way they give the washrooms a functional resilience and an enduring elegance

13. Toy Museum, Malaysia

14. Hotel in London

16. Urinal Park: Chongqing, China ( over 1,000 of these in this park! )

17. John Michael Kohler Art Center: Sheboygan, Wisconsin

18. What the ???

19. Can’t see in but …

22. Other public spaces: Bus shelters

23. Libraries (Toronto Reference Library )

24. Yonge-Dundas Square

26. City Parks (High Park)

27. Playgrounds