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.
given the text about "when this urinal is closed, here's the nearest bathroom" am pretty sure it is a closing door
Hm yeah but sounds like it's actually not operable by the pisser
Maybe they shut it at the end of the day, and that would explain all the Google maps' reviews mentioning the smell. It was very small, so there's no way someone could close the door behind themselves while they're using it.
If anyone's curious, there's a picture of someone using it on Google Maps. There's also another that might be the urinal with the door locked.