Public toilets

[nancylebov]

Philadelphia pretty much doesn't have them. You need to find a cooperative restaurant or know which shops have a rest room hidden away on the third floor. This makes the city a rather less pleasant place.

Here's a possible solution: businesses which offer public restrooms (probably indicated by a sticker) get a discount on their city taxes. A high-tech tweak could be added by having a web-site which lists all the businesses getting the tax discount.

Comments

[quarkwiz.livejournal.com]

Are Starbucks as ubiquitous there as in NYC? Most of their stores here have nice bathrooms, and at least in my experience don't require a purchase in exchange for the use thereof.

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

A fast googling only turns up three Starbucks in Philly, and that sounds about right.

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

Slightly more energetic googling turns up about 19, but some of them are in areas well away from the center of the city. I would say that there aren't enough Starbucks to accomodate a desperate pedestrian.

Also, while it may not be that hard to find a cooperative restaurant, a lot of people don't feel good about just using the restroom without buying something.

[sturgeonslawyer.livejournal.com]

Clearly you [i]are[/i] smarter than the Supreme Court, or at least the Philidelphia city gummint, or any other city gummint with which I am familiar. This is actually a very clever idea.

How well it would work is questionable - I suspect most businesses, however goodwilled they are about letting people who ask use their WCs, may not want to advertise that their WCs are free-for-all, lest they wind up like most gas station WCs.

[selki.livejournal.com]

I like this idea. I didn't think about the lack of public bathroom facilities when some folks were asking me about what to do while visiting Philly. Oh well, if they go to the Franklin Institute or the big art museum they're sure to find something.