I have pelvic floor tightness that has been exacerbated by starting Elvanse/Vyvanse, which means I often go from feeling nothing to suddenly feeling that I will wet myself if I don't find a toilet within 10 minutes, which is how I found this, the most persuasive argument I've ever seen against neoliberal austerity.
The main criticism of these kinds of urinals (yes, it's not the only one in London) is that they only serve able bodied and mostly cis men. I get the argument, but as an able bodied cis man (albeit one with a history of social anxiety) myself, I'd rather piss in the bushes. Going in the bushes is at least discreet, whereas this urinal may as well have a billboard saying "This motherfucker's got his cock out."
Edit: I did some further research and found this article from the BBC that says Westminster (the London borough containing Soho, Oxford Street, and many other major shopping and nightlife areas) only has 8 public restrooms for it's 8.3 square miles. That's terrible, even if this isn't counted as one of those 8, which it shouldn't be.
As I understand it the problem is that without these urinals drunk mfers would be pissing on buildings and streets. If it was just bushes I don’t know if it would be such an issue.
I saw a similar thing in Amsterdam. They sort of pop out of the ground in spots near bars. They were always found next to the river which made me think they exist to prevent dumbasses from pissing in the river.
Yes, but London desperately needs public restrooms. It feels like they're only considering drunks because sober people are going to be too inhibited to urinate in public, especially in the daytime when there are so many people around.
That area of London has basically no public restrooms. I remember getting very annoyed because I bought a cup of coffee at a cafe there so I could use their restroom, and it was out of order. It's gotten to the point where I always need to keep a mental note of where I can find a public restroom when I need one, which are normally only at the very big rail hubs.
No you’re right it’s very much an issue for keeping up appearances and in no way is it meant as a service.
London needs the guy from Perfect Days running and cleaning a washroom system.
There’s a third option, public, free, and well maintained bathrooms every couple blocks. As someone with bladder issues, the amount of public restrooms in China was a godsend. Cleanliness was all over the place, though, and everyone brings their own TP because they don’t provide it.