Toronto to get self-cleaning public pay toilets

by Rob Peters | June 10, 2008 at 12:49 pm
2877 views | 10 Recommendations | 6 comments

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It's probably a good thing for Canadian cities to aspire to be more European, but I'm not sure this is the way.
Sleek new benches, bus shelters and garbage cans will start gracing Toronto street corners by the end of the month, but by next summer a fixture of an entirely different kind will appear on the urban landscape: public loos.
The public toilets will cost a loonie and be equipped with a system that automatically sterilizes the floors, sinks and toilets after each use.
“Those are like the ones you’d see in Paris or Berlin … where you need to put a dollar to get in,” said Luc Sabbatini, president of Astral Media Outdoor, a division of the Canadian media company that won a bid to supply Toronto with $1-billion worth of street furniture over the next two decades. “They’re very modern, very expensive, all in stainless steel. They clean themselves automatically once you leave the washroom.”
Twenty of the self-cleaning washrooms are set to land on Toronto streets, and Councillor Michael Thompson (Scarborough Centre) said he is hopeful they will be part of the solution to Toronto’s bathroom blues.
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Jordan Yerman
Jordan Yerman
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 04:41 on June 11th, 2008

Rob Peters, you've convinced me you've done the work - it's authentic. I also think that you've been fair and thorough. I didn't get the sense that you were hiding your biases, or passing off other's work as your own. Or worse -- getting paid by those you cover -- so it's transparent and independent. I also think you deserve praise for being an eyewitness, and for your investigative efforts. Good stuff.

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Jordan Yerman

I want one in my home.

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ceperez

Funny thing happened when I took this photo. I pedestrian noticed me and offered to pose using the toilet! It would have been a terrific shot, unfortunately, I didn't have the guts.

ceperez has contributed a photo to this story.

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StephenWoolverton

Along with public transportation and street-side trash bins—when functioning correctly—self-cleaning public toilets are a benefit to any metropolitan area.

StephenWoolverton has contributed a photo to this story.

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5thandspring

these automated public toilets are the best things to hit downtown Los Angeles. We have many of them scattered throughout the neighborhood, and the ones closest to Skid Row don't require a quarter for entry.

5thandspring has contributed a photo to this story.

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heatherriese

These toilets in Spain were great as long as you read the
directions carefully! My friend "Bob" pressed a button while in the bathroom and it started self cleaning while he was still inside. So, beware! Read carefully or you may get a self-cleaning that you didn't expect! ; )

heatherriese has contributed a photo to this story.

This story was created over 3 months ago, the comment thread is now closed.

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