Lori ([info]moonrock) wrote in [info]seattle,
@ 2008-07-17 11:37:00
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Seattle's Filthy, Prostitute-Ridden Automated Public Toilets Now Available on eBay


Text from Gizmodo:

After spending $5 million of the city's tax dollars on high-tech, self-cleaning public toilets and then watching them quickly devolve into disgusting havens for just about every urban deviance imaginable, the city of Seattle is trying to cut their losses by vending all five of them on eBay where they can be yours for $89,000 each, discarded crack pipes not included.

In theory, the toilets' self-cleaning mechanism is capable of spraying down the whole interior with water jets and detergent every day, but the drainage systems quickly became clogged with trash, rendering them completely useless. Drug fiends and prostitutes were also fond of the 20-minute auto-locking doors, but the depravity quickly became too much for everyone, says the NYTimes:

“I’m not going to lie: I used to smoke crack in there,” said one homeless woman, Veronyka Cordner, nodding toward the toilet behind Pike Place Market. “But I won’t even go inside that thing now. It’s disgusting.”

My source: Gizmodo via NYTimes via Ebay


lol. wtg city of seattle.

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[info]trashalicious
2008-07-17 06:44 pm UTC (link)
i read that article in nyt and felt a little bad for the city....i mean, the market for used space toilets on ebay can't be that hot even without the nasty details plastered all over the internet.

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[info]sgiffy
2008-07-17 06:50 pm UTC (link)
I would probably spend like 89 dollars for one. Bleach the fuck out of it, modify the jets, and you have the coolest combination shower/shitter on the block.

Edited at 2008-07-17 06:51 pm UTC

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[info]severinus
2008-07-17 07:59 pm UTC (link)
Eh, there are thousands more such toilets operational worldwide, LA is putting in 150, and NYC and Boston are putting some in as well. Assuming these things are still operational, it seems reasonable that some firm or municipality will snatch them right up.

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[info]sgiffy
2008-07-17 06:49 pm UTC (link)
You know shit is bad when a place to filthy even for a crackhead.

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[info]moonrock
2008-07-17 07:17 pm UTC (link)
that quote is priceless.

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[info]syukton
2008-07-17 08:10 pm UTC (link)
Because it doesn't make any sense?

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actually it makes perfect sense
[info]chinaski
2008-07-18 03:47 am UTC (link)
Everyone has to have a line they won't sink below. Some won't smoke crack, some won't smoke it in a filthy reeking pisser. The quote gave me an odd twinge of respect for her.

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Re: actually it makes perfect sense
[info]syukton
2008-07-18 03:57 am UTC (link)
You may be mentally inserting words and correcting the word "to" to "too" but the statement as-written is nonsensical.

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[info]gomezticator
2008-07-18 01:41 am UTC (link)
I think Giffy's keyboard is more whacked out than mine.

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[info]monkeymodulator
2008-07-17 06:59 pm UTC (link)
I still think selling these is a bad idea. I'd rather have crack addicts smoking crack in there than human feces in the street. Hell, add a crack pipe dispenser to them and a distilled water spout to them. Turn them into little space-age harm-reduction centers.

This city needs more public bathrooms, not fewer. Seriously, where else are the homeless going to go for bathrooms? Even McDonalds charges people to use their bathrooms in this town.

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[info]moonrock
2008-07-17 07:14 pm UTC (link)
I think there was a major issue with the self cleaning and the things flooding because of trash and shit left on the floors. Crack addicts are going to smoke crack whether you take the public bathrooms out or not... but when it has to get serviced every week because the damn thing flooded again, it isnt much help.

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[info]monkeymodulator
2008-07-17 10:01 pm UTC (link)
It does help some, because at least you know (for the most part) where to clean up the crap. Now the crap and crack is going to spread out.

And more yuppies are going to call because some crack addict is smoking crack in the alley behind their new condo, which also costs money and resources.

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[info]gomezticator
2008-07-18 01:43 am UTC (link)
Which would suck, except crackheads are already smoking crack in alleys behind their homes. Bums already piss in alleyways, and wreck toilets in cafes and restaurants all over Downtown. Ultimately, there's not much of a marginal difference.

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lets take it a step further...
[info]arrogantb
2008-07-18 09:28 am UTC (link)
would solve so many problems....

http://futurama.wikia.com/wiki/Suicide_booth

could even help reduce the number of jumps from aurora...

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[info]badrobot68
2008-07-17 07:14 pm UTC (link)
The drug addicts are still going to do drugs and poop. Now they just have to do it in the parks and on the street.

Also, who is going to buy these on ebay? Seriously? What a waste.

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[info]moonrock
2008-07-17 07:15 pm UTC (link)
But now they aren't doing it in bathrooms that are flooding and expensive to fix everytime they flood. :P

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[info]gweana
2008-07-17 07:21 pm UTC (link)
Way too expensive... but otherwise would be great if you bought some property in the middle of nowhere...definitly a step up from a honey bucket.

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[info]viiless
2008-07-17 07:36 pm UTC (link)
Heh. "These units...have seen moderate, average use." and "City officials have decided to pursue other options..."

Oh, hey "for transmission of...information, a modem is included in the service room."

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[info]imp_of_satan
2008-07-17 07:51 pm UTC (link)
Thank God! Those disgusting things have ruined more neighborhoods and businesses than I care to think about!!

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[info]scearley
2008-07-17 07:55 pm UTC (link)
ruined businesses?

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[info]imp_of_satan
2008-07-17 07:57 pm UTC (link)
Chang's Mongolian Grill and Kinkos near SCCC are fine examples.

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[info]quietgrrl
2008-07-17 10:19 pm UTC (link)
I don't see how the public toilet "ruined" Kinko's or Mongolian Grill.

And as a side note; I'm pretty sure FedEx ruined Kinko's, so unless they sanctioned the space age public toilet, I'm not seeing the correlation here.

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[info]imp_of_satan
2008-07-17 11:08 pm UTC (link)
The fact that since the toilet near SCCC was installed every storefront on the block has gone out of business (save one) is pretty telling.

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[info]dieplz
2008-07-17 11:32 pm UTC (link)
No, those properties have been purchased by Sound Transit for the Capitol Hill light rail station. Many of the businesses have moved to nearby locations.

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[info]imp_of_satan
2008-07-18 06:17 am UTC (link)
The ones I specifically meant closed five years ago or so, so I'm betting their closures had more to do with losing customers due to people loitering around the bathrooms than Sound Transit.

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[info]gomezticator
2008-07-18 01:44 am UTC (link)
This thread, coincidentally, makes about as much sense as a crackhead.

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[info]severinus
2008-07-18 08:58 am UTC (link)
Except that "every storefront on the block" is something like 4 businesses. And according to the operations manager for Chang's, that location closed simply because its lease wasn't renewed, not because of the toilet. And right across the street is the Godfather's Pizza that went out of business in 2000 and never managed to get another tenant, even in the four years before the toilet was installed. Yeah, it was definitely the toilet that led to the downfall of that block.

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[info]quietgrrl
2008-07-18 12:01 am UTC (link)
... and ruined neighborhoods?

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[info]severinus
2008-07-17 08:09 pm UTC (link)
I was surprised that the NYT piece was the first I heard an explanation of why these things failed in this city but not anywhere else: "In the typical arrangement involving cities that want to try automated toilets, an outdoor advertising company like JCDecaux provides, operates and maintains them for the municipality in exchange for a right to place ads on public property like bus stops and kiosks. Revenue from the advertisers flows to both the company and the city."

But in Seattle there's a ban on the city selling the right to advertise on bus stops and the like. Thus the city was forced to lose money on these things, and every time something new went wrong, taxpayers had to foot the bill.

So in exchange for keeping our bus shelters clean of advertising and instead covered in ugly murals and graffiti, we get urine and feces on our sidewalks. Way to go, Seattle.

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[info]thetar
2008-07-17 08:13 pm UTC (link)
makes jameth's mattress look nice

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[info]hollyking
2008-07-17 09:32 pm UTC (link)
These things always remind me of the disintegration stations in the Star Trek episode A Taste of Armageddon.

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[info]littlelou
2008-07-17 10:59 pm UTC (link)
Not only is it extremely unlikely that anyone will buy these, but the City of Seattle also spent tax money to hire an "eBay Power Lister" or some crap to list and sell that low rent shit!

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[info]wyntermoonwolf
2008-07-18 01:05 am UTC (link)
Man, this whole situation stinks.

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[info]arrogantb
2008-07-18 09:43 am UTC (link)
creating a more pleasant environment for crack whores will ultimately yield more crack whores.

heck - why not create free housing for alcoholics where they can drink themselves to death in a nice, supportive environment? (oh - that's right - we already have that...)

if they really want to clean up the area - they should:

setup loudspeakers playing classical music
remove the benches and other seating (who uses them but bums?)
add some randomly timed sprinklers

this is just like the geese at greenlake. they're mostly gone now because of a bunch of little deterrents...

I often worry that an uber-liberal city like seattle just can't grasp stuff like this...

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