Public Toilet

lol — I can’t believe you can review the public washroom on 17^th!
I was a temporary employee at the City of Calgary, and got to help do research on the public washroom facilites for Calgary.
This toilet is high tech, state of the art, and extremely expensive. I have never used it though. They are more popular in Europe
I really should give it a try.

I took a girl here for a first date, and surprisingly, the service was not nearly as bad as reviewed here.
Seriously, though. I never, ever see people using this space-​age device except for street people. I have experienced better toilets and I would have to warn against bringing your children.

So all this time, this kiosk that sits on the east end of Tomkins Park is a toilet? I thought it was an information booth. Just 25 cents gets you into this huge streamlined stainless steel port a potty for 9.59 minutes of number 1’s, 2’s or whatever else you want to do in there. If you go beyond 9.59 minutes, alarms sound and security is called.
But synchronize your watches boys and girls, because you can sit down, and watch the toilet automatically flush while sanitizing itself and the room with water jets and then dry itself with self drying fans. Or you can just plain sit down relax and listen to music.
This is an initiative project created by the city, are you kidding me? This was supposed to help with tourism and help the homeless? Since when does the homeless have a quarter to spare let alone for this and not for something to eat?
Almost a quarter of a million dollars on this project, instead of thousands of countless things they could have done to improve the city. Who the heck makes these decisions; I am so appalled. I mean was this a tax right off? Is someone trying to launder money? Dare I say it! Is this a joke?
A quarter of a million dollars gone down the toilet if you ask me!

Did the city spend too much? In a word yes but I live in this neighborhood; a neighborhood which happens to be loaded with bars and liquor stores. And personally I would like to see the city build a few more permanent public toilets. It diminishes the chance of drunks peeing on my tomatoes.

This space-​age toilet cost the city a quarter of a million dollars. I’m not sure it’s worth it, but when they first put it in it attracted a number of tourists looking to break it in or just huddle inside and listen to the tunes (it actually plays music while you do your business).
This thing cleans the toilet seat with disinfectant after every use. The seat comes out of the wall dripping clean after you enter. Then the music starts and it really is quite pleasant. But if you stay in longer than 10 minutes, an alarm will sound and the door will fly open exposing you to the street. This is done to keep crackheads out, but I’m not sure it works. You can get a lot accomplished in 10 minutes.
Plus, the thing cleans its whole interior after so many uses. «It’s like taking a shit in a dishwasher,» one guy told me.
Which is true. But hardly worth $ 250,000. The best part for the city is that there are tiny cameras all over the place, in strategic places… Alright I made that up, but for all that money…
Anyway, if you need to go on 17^th Ave, stop in and give it a try. But don’t take too long or you know what will happen. And you can’t use it after 9 pm. That’s when it sleeps…