Bathroom? Anywhere?

Lately I've been reading a lot of things happening on the TTC. From bed bugs to cockroaches crawling on the seats, to passengers urinating and pooping on the subways. 

Yup. Pee and poop.

I don't take the TTC anymore - used to take it probably 20 years ago for school. It was the most miserable 4 years of my life doing downtown commuting with TTC. I vowed to myself that I would never live or work downtown because I hate taking public transit. Even if there are special events happening downtown, I would rather drive and be stuck in traffic. 

When I watch random IG clips of people urinating on the subway, I just feel so sad for them, yet disgusted that our city has come to this. So many clips of this happening and homeless people sleeping on the seats. The worst one were the ones caught pooping on the subway floor. Those must've come out of sheer desperation that they couldn't wait until the next main station with bathrooms.

I don't know about now, but last I recall, there were washrooms only at specific stations (eg. Kennedy, Warden, and then Yonge/Bloor) which is quite a bit of a stretch. Sometimes if there are delays, you'd be stuck underground somewhere between stations, and if you really had to go, you either piss your pants or piss on the floor I guess. Even if you got off at the next station, there's no guarantee that there will be washrooms in that station.

It brings me to my own personal experience late last year. I was going for my initial consult with the surgeon, and considering hubby and I were coming from the east end, all the way to the west end in morning rush hour traffic, we knew it would take a while to get there. We arrived to the city ahead of schedule but I really couldn't hold my bladder much longer. We decided to check out this small plaza across from the medical mall. Considering the medical mall would require payment, we decided to wait a bit before going in to get the ticket. Hence the separate plaza.

In that plaza, there was a grocery store, a sushi restaurant, and a medical walk in clinic. We stopped by the grocery store, checking out if there was a washroom. Unfortunately there was not. Out we walked and checked out the sushi restaurant. Now keep in mind, this was about 1000am so businesses were open. We went into the sushi restaurant and they were open. I asked the staff if it was possible to use the bathroom very quickly. What reaction did I get? They shook their heads no. I wasn't dressed like a bum or wearing anything ripped. I had my usual casual clothes with my designer handbag. Yet I got turned away from simply trying to take a piss.

Lastly I went into the walk in clinic asking if I could use their washroom - because there was one RIGHT there. "Oh, I'm sorry, this is only for our patients." Ok cool I totally get it. But considering this part of the city was still under construction for their LRT, everything was a complete mess to drive around and look for the nearest Tim Horton's (there wasn't really one nearby and the one we thought we went to, it was IN the grocery store). 

Me, a neatly dressed normal working person, got turned away from 3 places trying to use the washroom to take a piss. Thankfully I didn't have massive diarrhea because that would be a different story and no place would offer that to anyone. If a normal person gets turn away from using something as basic as a bathroom facility, how do you think the homeless population feel? This is the most basic human right, yet normal working people get turned away.

Eventually we ended up going to the medical building a bit earlier to park and I went looking for a public washroom on the ground floor. Surprisingly there was no public washroom, unless you got a key from whatever clinic you're visiting. I was lucky to find a handicap washroom on its own, without any key. I just went ahead and used it. At that point it was better than nothing. 

Do I blame anyone from taking a piss on the subway or on the sidewalks? Honestly, given my similar situation, I don't blame them one bit. It took about 20 mins to do a circus run trying to find a washroom, ANYONE that would allow me to use it, and those 20 mins felt completely brutal. 

Honestly? Humanity has gone to garbage. If people do not allow others to use something as basic as the washroom, then I'm sorry but your facility deserves to get shat on. 

My work clinic is another example. Staff are aware that anyone who is not a patient here or a staff member, if they ring our doorbell and start asking for the bathroom, they get turned away. Thankfully this doesn't happen often, but when I get Wheeltrans drivers asking to use the bathroom, I let them use our facility. It doesn't make sense for them to drive to the mall or plaza as there isn't anything nearby. 

I do understand too that not everyone has good intentions. You never know who is asking to use it for actual elimination, or using it to snort up cocaine, or shoot up heroine. We have experienced that too. At the end of the day, facilities need to be cleaned. It is our duty to ensure facilities remain clean and functional. 

Going back to TTC stations and washrooms. I wish all stations were equipped with washrooms, for those really emergent cases. At the same time, I can see that maintenance would increase - it would need to be cleaned and maintained more frequently as anyone can use it. Hence why they only have it at certain stations, and mostly at the main connection points. 

Public washrooms in general? If you're not anywhere near a mall or a hospital, it's generally difficult to find a public washroom to use when duty calls. That's the biggest problem with this city. And if you do find one, you have to pray and make sure they even allow you to use it. If not, good luck.