Australian Open-Air Urinals: Very Necessary But Highly Embarrassing
Without a solution in sight for the public urination problem in Sydney, Australia, the folks from down under have now introduced curious looking outdoor urinals, similar to those pictured, which already exist in some European cities.
Working on the basis — like most men do — that when you need to go, you need to go, the urinals, according to some, are a great idea. On the other hand, others have condemned them as an eyesore and inappropriate.
ABC reported recently that after more than a decade of trying to manage the pee problem in the city, Australia’s Gold Coast City Council finally came up with the idea of the open-air urinals located smack bang in the middle of a busy nightclub strip.
As far as councillor Lex Bell is concerned, the urinals are the only way to manage the problem of public urination that has plagued Cavill Mall and Orchid Avenue in Surfer’s Paradise, southeastern Queensland.
Councillor Bell told reporters, “We cannot arrest such people, we don’t have the power, so the thought was if we put urinals in places where the inebriated people have to stagger past, they may well use them. When people are staggering from nightclubs, they won’t seek out public toilets – even if they are there. We’ve had drunk people urinating in shop fronts, on windows and all over footpaths for a long time now. It’s a seasonal issue for us, obviously becoming worse during this time of year. I don’t like the urinals either but they are less offensive than the alternative.”
But despite Mr. Bell’s take on the matter, a number of local residents are horrified by the open-air urinals, like Richard Holliday, who took to Twitter to rant about the situation.
“Merry Christmas from Surfers Paradise. Disgusting public loos greet millions of visitors and residents. At every level they are grossly wrong,” he posted.
Orchid Avenue business owner Craig Duffy went one step even further, saying, “I’m actually in disbelief. I thought when I first saw it that it was some sort of Photoshop joke. It’s unhygienic and visually unappealing. They should get rid of them immediately before Christmas and New Year. The more tourists who see that, the more damage will be done to the brand of the Gold Coast.”
The good news is that the Australian open-air urinals are, for the time being, just a three-month project, and may be gone from the streets of Sydney soon.
