When public toilets are a public nuisance

SAN FRANCISCO -- Six years ago, San Francisco's Mayor Willie Brown began importing chic, hi-tech coin-operated public toilets from France's JCDecaux SA. But in an effort to maintain them, a lot of money has been flushed away.

As tourist season peaks here, some city officials say "les toilettes" aren't doing the job.

S.F. a step closer to shutting problem potties at night

If nature calls after midnight, you soon may not be able to go knocking on the door of the super-modern bathroom at San Francisco's famous Powell Street cable car turnaround.

City officials agreed Thursday to draft a proposal for closing six to eight of San Francisco's 25 JCDecaux toilets at night to stop misuse by drug addicts, prostitutes, homeless campers and vandals.

The city also is considering posting civilian monitors outside the self- cleaning commodes to watch and report unlawful behavior to police, according to city officials who met with police and JCDecaux representatives.

"If these efforts fail, we will move the toilets," said Ed Lee, director for the Department of Public Works, which oversees the city's contract with JCDecaux to install and maintain the toilets.

Thursday's meeting came after the Chronicle reported Monday that spot checks at all 25 of the pay toilets revealed that most were plagued by social and mechanical ills. Just eight were trouble free.

"It's the behavior, not the need (to urinate), that needs to be addressed," Lee said.

Potties that could be closed are located at Market and Powell streets, U.N. Plaza, Market and 17th streets in the Castro, Market and Church streets, Mission and 16th streets, and Mission and 24th streets. The hours the bathrooms will be closed will be worked out in the coming weeks.

JCDecaux's contract with the city calls for operating all the toilets 24 hours a day. If the city wants to amend the contract to close certain toilets at night, the Board of Supervisors would have to make the decision.

In its survey of the toilets, the Chronicle found doors that didn't open and sinks with no water. In the worst cases, prostitutes used them for privacy, and junkies holed up inside to shoot heroin, leaving behind needles and blood.

Police have found that six of the toilets that may be locked overnight are rarely used legitimately after dark.

But closing them nightly won't solve the problem alone, Lee said. Earlier this year, someone broke into a toilet at Sixth and Mission streets that had been closed to be moved to a new location. The toilet was moved to Pier 22 1/2 because it had been so badly abused.

JCDecaux has tried other solutions over the years, including replacing the interior lights with blue lights in an attempt to stop drug addicts from seeing their veins. But the test program in two toilets was abandoned because users broke the blue lights, Lee said.

Last year, the Board of Supervisors outlawed loitering around the JCDecaux toilets or going inside with another person. JCDecaux also added a maintenance worker, bringing the total to nine.

City officials and JCDecaux say most toilets work well for residents, tourists and the city's large homeless population. The city has received neighborhood and merchant requests for 25 more toilets.

"It's still a very good experience for the city," Lee said.

JCDecaux gave the 48-square-foot rest rooms to the city seven years ago in exchange for the right to sell advertising space on the company's matching kiosks. The city installed them in areas where tourists and the homeless congregate.

Maybe they could set up some seperate little kiosks for the prostitutes and drug junkies and ask them to save the toilet kiosks for that purpose.

"JCDecaux insists San Francisco's problems are linked to its homeless population"

Maybe they could build special kiosks for the homeless people. They could have sort of a three room kiosk: one for the homeless, one for the prostitutes and drug junkies, and one for people who want to use the toilet.

"The San Francisco crew visits the commodes often more than twice a day."

Now this is a large part of the problem. They should find out why these people are going to the bathroom so much.

That reminds me of an incident several decades ago. I had moved to a different school (small, rural) to teach in the high school. It was hot in August, so I bought a box fan and placed it at the back of the classroom near the window. (I was at the front of the room, so the far was for the benefit of the students. The school didn't provide such luxuries.)

Less than a week later, I noticed the fan blade wasn't turning after the students (juniors and seniors) left for lunch. I thought one was being nice and turned the fan off for the lunch period.

After lunch, I went back to turn on the fan for the next class. The blade didn't turn. I moved the fan and noticed that one of the students had cut the fan cord completely into. I couldn't believe it. It wasn't the value of the fan. It was there for their benefit. One apparently thought it would be a cool idea--that turned out to be a hot idea.

I moved it to the storage room. The next day in that class before lunch, I just simply said someone decided the rest of the class didn't benefit from the fan, so that person cut the cord. Sorry that the rest of you will have to suffer in the heat because I won't buy another fan just to have someone destroy it for fun.

The whole problem, of course, stems from the fact that the advertising on the potties was selected without the input from or the approval of the brave and wonderful Homeless folks who are forced to live in these urban areas. Many find some of the advertising tasteless, having little creative or literary value, and, some, even extremely offensive. If we are to bring the vulnerable Homeless, especially the psychotics, addicts, prostitutes, habitual criminals, and those that prey on out-of-town torists, back into the main stream of San Francisco society, then, accomodations must be made to understand their sensitivities. Let's give these wonderful folks a break. Sure, clean up the potties every day but let's not be critical of the Homeless, they are truly San Francisco's most important constituency.

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