20 March 2013

New late night urinals are for very short people

| Barcham
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urinals

Last night I went to investigate the new urinals that have been placed in Civic. Why? For you dear Rioters. I did it for you. As you can see from the above image they have placed them in quiet, private, out of the way areas. Areas such as one of the primary bus stops on Alinga St. Right next to a streetlamp. Because privacy.

Also you see they’ve placed rather large doors to increase the privacy available to the urine-ees.

barcham

Climbing into a urinal to examine the facilities I discovered three things.

1. The doors sit well below ‘business’ level, meaning they won’t actually provide privacy to anyone over 5 foot tall.
2. As soon as you step into a urinal you can expect a large group of people to approach you and ask what you are doing, and how you are finding it.
3. Despite points 1 and 2, people must still be using these toilets as they smelt horrible.

[Photos courtesy of Adam Thomas]

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Personally I think these are offensive, not for the fact that women can’t use them or don’t have a similar counterpart. But because I dont want to see THAT when I’m taking a stroll to another club, there are already many things I see in civic of a late night, that I wish I could unsee, but installing these in open, well lit public places? it’s basically advocating public indecency…To be perfectly honest I’d prefer they take their usual route down a quiet, unlit ally. I highly doubt the target market of these particular urinals are at their most steady part of the evening either, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there are a few stumbles and slips, resulting in far more than I planned on seeing that night! And lastly, right next to the taxi rank line!? ‘cummon’ ACT.. Use your brains! If I want to end my evening watching a guy drunkenly taking a piss, I’ll have a sneak peek in the mens bathroom in Macdonald located 2 seconds away from these abominations!

wildturkeycanoe said :

As expensive as these “temporary” arrangements [we hope] are, they could have at least put up something like a curtain or tarpaulin around them for privacy. And what is wrong with Portaloos? Apart from the fact that this contraption services 4 people at a time, if it is catered for the driveway/alley cat, then the market is unlikely to go out in public like this, they will continue to go into hiding. If my taxes went towards this, I want a refund!!!
Let me say that again to make it noted for our pollies – I WANT A REFUND!!!
My taxes did not go towards these pitiful efforts, when in any suburban street you have no toilets to service you within a 2km radius after closing time for shopping centers. Does that mean that drunks get special privileges but ordinary suburbanites do not? What is so special about the deadbeats in Civic who can’t pee in the place that they bought drinks from? We are pandering to the type of people who shouldn’t be hanging around public places. What’s next, making a comfy padded tyre barrier for drunk driver’s so they don’t crash into other people? How about a free money stall to stop robbers mugging old people and teenage girls? Free gift vouchers to Fyshwick’s establishments for those who feel like raping women so that they leave innocents alone?
If you can’t go to the toilet where you filled your bladder, TOO BAD!! If you have to pee in an alleyway, prepare to be arrested for indecent exposure or urinating in a public place. These horrid orange things will be such a Youtube hit from cameras up on the roofs and windows of the surrounding buildings, not to mention the passers by with phones recording as they walk past. Will you be a worldwide hit?
Hate them, hate them, hate them.
That’s my spray for tonight.

Given that they are financed by Canberra CBD then I suggest you take it up with them but unless you are a member of that organisation I don’t think they’ll give you money.

You can try though.

So basically they’re a few metres across from public toilets, in a spot where there are lots of passers by who’ll be able to see and smell everything.

Does anyone else feel that it’s somewhat less nice than a drunk pissing on a wall in the alley?

wildturkeycanoe said :

That’s my spray for tonight.

Try not to splash other people while you’re having it.

wildturkeycanoe9:36 pm 18 Mar 13

As expensive as these “temporary” arrangements [we hope] are, they could have at least put up something like a curtain or tarpaulin around them for privacy. And what is wrong with Portaloos? Apart from the fact that this contraption services 4 people at a time, if it is catered for the driveway/alley cat, then the market is unlikely to go out in public like this, they will continue to go into hiding. If my taxes went towards this, I want a refund!!!
Let me say that again to make it noted for our pollies – I WANT A REFUND!!!
My taxes did not go towards these pitiful efforts, when in any suburban street you have no toilets to service you within a 2km radius after closing time for shopping centers. Does that mean that drunks get special privileges but ordinary suburbanites do not? What is so special about the deadbeats in Civic who can’t pee in the place that they bought drinks from? We are pandering to the type of people who shouldn’t be hanging around public places. What’s next, making a comfy padded tyre barrier for drunk driver’s so they don’t crash into other people? How about a free money stall to stop robbers mugging old people and teenage girls? Free gift vouchers to Fyshwick’s establishments for those who feel like raping women so that they leave innocents alone?
If you can’t go to the toilet where you filled your bladder, TOO BAD!! If you have to pee in an alleyway, prepare to be arrested for indecent exposure or urinating in a public place. These horrid orange things will be such a Youtube hit from cameras up on the roofs and windows of the surrounding buildings, not to mention the passers by with phones recording as they walk past. Will you be a worldwide hit?
Hate them, hate them, hate them.
That’s my spray for tonight.

milkman said :

http://www.shewee.com.au/

But can you write your name in the snow with it?

All these complaints about the doors being too low and too small. You should be thankful they didn’t install the same ones they use at Oxford St and Kings Cross in Sydney. Those ones don’t have doors at all.

DrKoresh said :

johnboy said :

I think the poor folk who’s job it is to take these away every morning are already filling that role!

I don’t, I reckon they’re probably just taking the piss

I’m going to go off half-cocked and interrupt you two mid-stream by suggesting that we’ve squeezed out every last drop in this piss poor attempt by Lord Mayor Ratten and his cronies!

johnboy said :

I think the poor folk who’s job it is to take these away every morning are already filling that role!

I don’t, I reckon they’re probably just taking the piss

Here’s a better solution: PISS BOY.

I think the poor folk who’s job it is to take these away every morning are already filling that role!

They’re not there for convenience but to prevent drunk men peeing all over walls and street furniture.

I have a friend who used to work in a small theater in a city centre (not in Oz). They had to clean urine off their front walls every morning after the pub crowd had stumbled home. They ended up installing a few electric wires against the wall. Very mean, but it solved the problem.

p996911turbo1:19 pm 18 Mar 13

People keep mentioning taxpayer dollars. Isn’t Canberra CBD Limited funding this or did I miss something?

HiddenDragon12:54 pm 18 Mar 13

Beautifully timed for the grand finale of the Toulouse-Lautrec exhibition, the Paris end of Civic gets its very own pissoir/vespasienne – utilitarian and oh so elegant (dare I say it – piss elegant) as only Canberra can do it. Lovely to see Barcham getting into the spirit of things, and providing a sartorial homage to the little master – performance art meets installation art!

poetix said :

Easy peesy.

Couldn’t help yourself, could you? It took me a minute but when I wet myself when I saw it 😀

poetix said :

Solidarity said :

Wow. What a bunch of whingers. How dare the male anatomy allow stand up urination. All people must be forced to use unisex toilets, because equality.

Far out.

No, I am not saying that. I am happy for men to have urinals, and to stop peeing all over the toilets. But there should be more toilets for women. Easy peesy.

Also, these are incredibly ugly, and should not be in the middle of public space in this way.

You are a whinger.

I think the target audience for these things are the people who already piss in alleyways, trash cans, doorways, etc.
and who doesn’t like pretending they’re a giant while they piss?

Solidarity said :

Wow. What a bunch of whingers. How dare the male anatomy allow stand up urination. All people must be forced to use unisex toilets, because equality.

Far out.

No, I am not saying that. I am happy for men to have urinals, and to stop peeing all over the toilets. But there should be more toilets for women. Easy peesy.

Also, these are incredibly ugly, and should not be in the middle of public space in this way.

Classy.

The plaque for the alternates is down in the ladies room.

Wow. What a bunch of whingers. How dare the male anatomy allow stand up urination. All people must be forced to use unisex toilets, because equality.

Far out.

gentoopenguin9:54 am 18 Mar 13

Maybe it is not designed for short men but for tall men with long appendages… guess Barcham is admitting he doesn’t know much about that 😉

As usual, the ACT government seems to have done ‘squat’ for female incontinence! Perhaps they intend to provide women with a bowl and a cardboard box to crawl under. Did a female chief minister really sign off on this initiative?

Also, the colour of these ‘conveniences’ just screams out “Look at me”. Couldn’t they have made them in a more subtle hue. Pale blue would have been just as effective without drawing unnecessary public attention. It would also have signal led the gender specific nature, reinforcing the male figure stencilled on the side.

This gets a big thumbs-down from me!

poetix said :

Sandman said :

How long before a female or wheelchair activist group cries discrimination?

Unless there are also toilets for sitters of all descriptions, that is exactly what urinals represent. Discrimination moulded in plastic and given pride of place.

And you’re a little late, such comments have already been made.

Perhaps you’ve missed the public toilets that are right next to the bus interchange? I would’ve thought women would prefer less men using those ones and freeing them up for more women?

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

LSWCHP said :

I don’t spend much time in Civic, but even if I did I doubt I’d use on of these gadgets. I’m close to 2m tall, and those silly guard things would be around my calves. There’s some things a man just doesn’t do if he wants to maintain his dignity, and I think that peeing in that orange machine is one of those things.

…it’s weird how after the military I became so pee nervous.
Don’t get me wrong, I will get my dong out on request but now days I can’t even wee if someone is in the stall next to me. My wife calls me the nervous pisser.

Way too much information…

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd7:47 pm 17 Mar 13

LSWCHP said :

I don’t spend much time in Civic, but even if I did I doubt I’d use on of these gadgets. I’m close to 2m tall, and those silly guard things would be around my calves. There’s some things a man just doesn’t do if he wants to maintain his dignity, and I think that peeing in that orange machine is one of those things.

…it’s weird how after the military I became so pee nervous.
Don’t get me wrong, I will get my dong out on request but now days I can’t even wee if someone is in the stall next to me. My wife calls me the nervous pisser.

poetix said :

Masquara said :

I think it may be that women can (and do) hold on for longer …

Your bladder and ways are not mine.

It didn’t occur to me to add the caveat that women of a certain age may need to go more often! Sorry Poetix!

I don’t spend much time in Civic, but even if I did I doubt I’d use on of these gadgets. I’m close to 2m tall, and those silly guard things would be around my calves. There’s some things a man just doesn’t do if he wants to maintain his dignity, and I think that peeing in that orange machine is one of those things.

You’re facing the wrong way!

When I use a urinal I just un-zip my fly and no one behind me needs see my pasty white arse.
But that’s just me.
Sounds like Barcham likes to drop the trousers for number ones.

You’re facing the wrong way, d***head.

(this is leon, you’re not a d***head)

Masquara said :

I think it may be that women can (and do) hold on for longer …

Your bladder and ways are not mine.

Sandman said :

poetix said :

And you’re a little late, such comments have already been made.

Where? Post #6 item C references a female but I’m pretty sure that suggestion was more along the lines of an inebriated attention whore doing something that she thinks is funny. I’m talking about the “why was taxpayer money used on a facility only available for able bodied males” aspect of the argument.

This thread:

http://the-riotact.com/having-a-wee-in-late-night-civic-gets-some-help/97696

poetix said :

And you’re a little late, such comments have already been made.

Where? Post #6 item C references a female but I’m pretty sure that suggestion was more along the lines of an inebriated attention whore doing something that she thinks is funny. I’m talking about the “why was taxpayer money used on a facility only available for able bodied males” aspect of the argument.

DrKoresh said :

poetix said :

Sandman said :

How long before a female or wheelchair activist group cries discrimination?

Unless there are also toilets for sitters of all descriptions, that is exactly what urinals represent. Discrimination moulded in plastic and given pride of place.

And you’re a little late, such comments have already been made.

Why should we disallow people who are able to utilise these urinals from doing so just because there are people who aren’t able to? It’s the same as saying it’s discriminatory that only cyclists are allowed to use cycle lanes. Hell, it’s the same as saying people shouldn’t be allowed to ride bikes at all because there are people out there who due to unfortunate circumstances are unable to ride one.

There could be a point I’m missing here, and if so, please enlighten me, but I really can’t see any great injustice being done here.

I think it may be that women can (and do) hold on for longer …

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

Pork Hunt said :

gooterz said :

Is there a tap to wash ones hand it does it just really suit a certain breed of person?

It took years of practice, but I have learnt to not piss on my hands…

Not only do I not piss on my hands but I can also guarantee you that my donger is more hygienic than a public toilets tap that are nearly all still manual and have been touched hundreds of times a hour by the chuds that do piss all over their hands.

As Jimmy Carr once said “I wash my (blank) in the morning and I’m good for the day.”

DrKoresh said :

poetix said :

Sandman said :

How long before a female or wheelchair activist group cries discrimination?

Unless there are also toilets for sitters of all descriptions, that is exactly what urinals represent. Discrimination moulded in plastic and given pride of place.

And you’re a little late, such comments have already been made.

Why should we disallow people who are able to utilise these urinals from doing so just because there are people who aren’t able to? It’s the same as saying it’s discriminatory that only cyclists are allowed to use cycle lanes. Hell, it’s the same as saying people shouldn’t be allowed to ride bikes at all because there are people out there who due to unfortunate circumstances are unable to ride one.

There could be a point I’m missing here, and if so, please enlighten me, but I really can’t see any great injustice being done here.

I’m saying that toilets (more of them) should also be provided for women, and for the disabled, as well as urinals for men. We all have bladders. We all need to pee. Why should men be the only ones catered for?

DrKoresh said :

I’d rather get a bit embarrassed than have some enterprising criminal arsehole catch me with my pants down in the dark, just sayin’.

People pee in the dark alleys all the time, i’m sure it’s the least of their worries.

Barcham said :

Question 1. I am not very tall.

Question 2. No, Hadley wasn’t there.

Question 3. I am a dapper man.

You bear a damn strong resemblance though! Or maybe I’m just nuts, but I remember you mentioning him not long ago in an article so I don’t think I was too far-reaching in my assumption.

poetix said :

Sandman said :

How long before a female or wheelchair activist group cries discrimination?

Unless there are also toilets for sitters of all descriptions, that is exactly what urinals represent. Discrimination moulded in plastic and given pride of place.

And you’re a little late, such comments have already been made.

Why should we disallow people who are able to utilise these urinals from doing so just because there are people who aren’t able to? It’s the same as saying it’s discriminatory that only cyclists are allowed to use cycle lanes. Hell, it’s the same as saying people shouldn’t be allowed to ride bikes at all because there are people out there who due to unfortunate circumstances are unable to ride one.

There could be a point I’m missing here, and if so, please enlighten me, but I really can’t see any great injustice being done here.

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd1:51 pm 17 Mar 13

Pork Hunt said :

gooterz said :

Is there a tap to wash ones hand it does it just really suit a certain breed of person?

It took years of practice, but I have learnt to not piss on my hands…

Not only do I not piss on my hands but I can also guarantee you that my donger is more hygienic than a public toilets tap that are nearly all still manual and have been touched hundreds of times a hour by the chuds that do piss all over their hands.

Sandman said :

How long before a female or wheelchair activist group cries discrimination?

Unless there are also toilets for sitters of all descriptions, that is exactly what urinals represent. Discrimination moulded in plastic and given pride of place.

And you’re a little late, such comments have already been made.

They’re taking the p!ss…

(Someone had to…)

Such a shame. Mayor Rattenbury or the minister responsible could have, er, “harnessed” this “golden” opportunity and applied some green credentials to the project. The urinals could have been designed to sit around Civic’s trees – or the more standard urinals’ “proceeds” could be collected and applied to citrus trees in an inner-north community garden …

gooterz said :

Is there a tap to wash ones hand it does it just really suit a certain breed of person?

There seems to be a hand santiser dispenser on the side.

That said, since the stated aim of these was to reduce the incidence of people pissing in alleyways and shop doorways, I think we have already answered the question of what kind of person they’re aimed at.

Ew. Just ew.

gooterz said :

Is there a tap to wash ones hand it does it just really suit a certain breed of person?

It took years of practice, but I have learnt to not piss on my hands…

How long before a female or wheelchair activist group cries discrimination?

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

Wait, barcham is a hipster????

I thought Barcham was a she?

Henry82 said :

Why the hell did they place them in a well lit area?

I’d rather get a bit embarrassed than have some enterprising criminal arsehole catch me with my pants down in the dark, just sayin’.

Seriously who designed this abomination and more importantly who gave this the go-ahead and chose the location.Yet another piss poor effort.

Henry82 said :

Why the hell did they place them in a well lit area?

My guess is splashback

Henry82 said :

Why the hell did they place them in a well lit area?

For security and to assist with aim for those who are inebriated. Same reason fully enclosed toilets are well lit.

Question 1. I am not very tall.

Question 2. No, Hadley wasn’t there.

Question 3. I am a dapper man.

Why the hell did they place them in a well lit area?

vulpior said :

Is that really a little man symbol on the side indicating their purpose and intended gender of use?

That pales in comparison to the detailed warnings and diagrams that have appeared in some toilets at ANU.

I must question whether there is any significance to the fashion on display?

Is there a tap to wash ones hand it does it just really suit a certain breed of person?

How long before
A) someone does number 2
B) Someone uses it as an excuse for indecent exposure
C) A lady uses it and does A and B.

Is that a Hadley I spy with my little eye? 😀

You are Barcham up the wrong pee. (Sorry? Never.)

And do you always hold a You Are Here programme while not peeing?

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd9:48 pm 16 Mar 13

Wait, barcham is a hipster????

viking princess9:25 pm 16 Mar 13

How tall are you by the way Barcham?

Is that really a little man symbol on the side indicating their purpose and intended gender of use?

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