Hey, all. My answer is yes. Here's my reasoning: part of the Transition is moving to more active transportation, like walking and biking. But a trip that takes 10 minutes in a car can take 40 minutes on foot. People need to pee every 1.5 to 3 hours, so there's a much better chance that you're going to need to go to the bathroom on a walking trip than on a driving trip. You're covering more of the window.

So, cities that build biking or walking paths should make sure there are free and accessible washrooms along the way.

If there aren't washrooms available, people improvise, so to speak, making urban areas less pleasant and consequently less walkable or bike able.

For someone driving, if they are in the car and they get the urge, there are a lot of services set up to cater to them: gas stations, minimarts, fast food restaurants. And in a car, the time required for a detour is much lower. If you're on foot, on the other hand, you have to identify a place to use, like a cafe or restaurant, and maybe make a purchase just to get access to the restrooms.

When you consider children and seniors, the issue gets more urgent and the need is more frequent.

Public toilets make cities more walkable. Cities that are working on the Transition need to consider opportunities for making toilets available to pedestrians and bikers.

My city, Montreal, is notoriously lacking in public toilet infrastructure:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/good-question-montreal-public-washrooms-1.7106376

There's some work to open up more of the toilets on private property to public use:

https://montrealcentreville.ca/en/what-to-do/ptit-coin-the-network-of-public-washrooms-downtown/

My city, Montreal, is notoriously lacking in public toilet infrastructure:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/good-question-montreal-public-washrooms-1.7106376

@evan There are lots of "green" equipment which I assume you are talking about. Used for takin care of the waste. It has become so efficient so you are not obliged to connect it to a VAC (is it called that?) system.

@evan No but street toilets are a human right and one that is badly neglected by our infrastructure approach.

@evan Related: did you know about the lost public bathrooms?

(Edit: maybe covered in that podcast episode; I didn’t listen (yet).)

https://www.montrealgazette.com/news/article498874.html

Besides encouraging active transportation, public toilets just make people feel like they're part of something bigger. That the city they live in recognises their basic needs and is competent enough to accommodate those needs. It's great for social cohesion.

@evan
Fun fact: Rotary International is responsible for the first public toilets in Chicago in 1907. Back then "the city they live in" wasn't into the biz of public comfort, or sanitation.

A lot of the public infrastructure that people take for granted today is the result of service clubs formed at the end of the 19th and the start of the 20th centuries.

https://californialocal.com/localnews/statewide/ca/article/show/238946-doing-good-rotary-international/