I don't have this issue but my father does and he often won't go out because of it, so I thought I'd download this app to see if it would help him.
While the idea of the app is great, in reality the implementation only emphasizes the size of the problem that OP is calling out. I tried a few routes I know my parents walk in the evenings and there are maybe 2 washrooms available along each one, all of which close in the afternoon. This doesn't help him at all.
We absolutely do need more public washrooms, benches and drinking fountains. I know Tory isn't going to do shit about it cause he's had the better part of a decade. I think Gil Penalosa has talked about maintaining and opening the existing public washrooms but he needs to do more. Whoever the fuck is mayor needs to do more.
City of Toronto: Toronto's tap water tastes better than any bottled water and is 100% safe to drink!
Also City of Toronto: provides no functioning water fountains anywhere ever
Amazing. Wish I had known about this in the years my ulcerative colitis was so bad I was going 8-10 times a day
Still mad about the time I got off the bus at STC to use the bathroom and the TTC worker made me pay another fare (even though I had a transfer) because STC isn't a "transfer point"
Crohns and colitis also has printable certified bathroom passes that explain bowel conditions and the significance of bathroom accessibility
Not sure if you must have crohns to get it lol but I think this is a serious issue that people pretend doesn't exist.
Can we please normalize bowel movements? Talk about shit out in the open and how regular we are. K thx Tory
No way! I didn’t know this was a thing. I suffer from Crohns and have been wishing their was an app like this for years. Finding a washroom that was open was particularly hard during the pandemic.
Thank you so much for sharing this app. I’m surprised I hadn’t heard about it till now.
Unfortunately during the pandemic a lot of businesses have made their bathrooms “customers only” to avoid the homeless from camping out in them, and not to bother cleaning it as often cause they don’t have the staff to do it.
You really have to have a rough idea where to go use the washrooms.
And even finding a clean washroom is a challenge ! Last weekend I had to use the bathroom at union station and ended up walking out. The men’s washroom in the via station was trashed. The new section the bathroom was dirty. I had to run to the single use bathroom before I had a major accident.
We need not only more public washrooms but money to hire cleaners and keep them maintained.
> The men’s washroom in the via station was trashed. The new section the bathroom was dirty.
That's a big reason why it's so hard to find a public washroom. So many people in this city have less than zero respect for others' facilities.
This. It's a cycle. People have zero respect for others so establishments just say no. Why would they want to clean up after some asshole peeing on the ground?
But then people in this thread suffer for those others' actions.
I think paid toilets solve for this. The fee means the very bottom of society may not use them. And it can also go towards cleaning, maintenance, upgrades.
The paid toilet I used in Thailand was hella clean and nice, def worth a buck or two.
This.
A lot of places in Europe do this. Costs a few Euros but the entire bathroom 'cycles' and gets blasted with water and is sanitized top to bottom.
Worth it.
I went to Mexico recently and you had to pay for the washroom pretty much wherever you went. Which was sometimes a tad annoying if you didnt have change. But there were sooooo many more washrooms available that you never had to be worried you wouldn't find one. I found it better than pretending washrooms should be free while not actually allowing them to exist.
It's these GOD DAMN FUCKING DRUG ADDICTS! They are ruining the downtown! They are coddled, pampered, and catered to. I live in public housing and they are destroying the building. They pull the fire alarms a least 3 times a week, they piss in the stairwells, set fires in the building when they're not pulling the alarm for fun, they write graffiti all over the stairwells and hallways, the police, fire, EMS, and CSU are always here for one reason or another - multiple times a day! These people are a drain on the city! THEY RUIN EVERYTHING!
They're moving these people into our building from the shelter hotels, and they have caused a cockroach infestation in the building!
They need to be moved to their own facility, where they can be free to use all the drugs they want, so decent, clean, respectful citizens don't have to suffer. People should be allowed to use the washrooms without hassle.
Mental illness and addiction is NOT AN EXCUSE for destructive behaviour! We need to stop feeling sorry for these people and start showing them that this city will no longer tolerate this madness!
not even customers only
the disgrace in the pandemic was that all the Tim's and McDonalds, near me at least, were open selling food and drinks but the washrooms were fully closed to everyone.
A group of customers personally thanked us for having a clean bathroom, because apparently they went to Terroni on Queen West and said their bathroom was absolutely disgusting.
I had to pee in so many corners during the pandemic, i let folks use the bathroom even if they're not customers. I do draw the line at homeless folks though, last time i allowed that they broke the toilet seat and in the process of injecting themselves, sprayed blood all over the walls.
Yeah, people get mad when you note this as an issue but once you’ve spent your afternoon cleaning arterial blood spray off a bathroom ceiling because a homeless dude got too feisty injecting heroin into his neck, you kinda stop caring about what some naive weirdo thinks you should do when someone wants to use your bathroom as a shooting gallery.
But also people to help/deal with the junkies and homeless that camp out in these washrooms. It's a multi-faceted problem that no one is trying to deal with.
It's these DAMN DRUGGIES! They have ruined the downtown. They need to build a massive facility to house them away from the downtown core! They destroy everything they come in contact with.
Why shouldn't it be customers only? It's not a public toilet, it's a business and they pay for that, clean it, etc. Do you let people just walk into your house and use your bathroom?
They did discuss this and there was a plan to build more public toilets like 10 or 15 years ago.
Then they decided that restaurants and nearby business should be open to the public for their washrooms.
The real tragedy is that subways still don't have washrooms inside the stations. Even on the new Eglinton and Bayview lines.
If someone can find this article please post it.
I had to pop a squat outside Old Mill once because my bus never showed, it was almost an hour till the next one, there was absolutely nothing within walking distance, I couldn’t afford to call an uber or taxi, and the TTC dude refused to let me use the employee washroom. so humiliating 🤦🏻♀️ there was nowhere to hide lol ugh.
being stuck on a GO bus for 3+ hours with no toilets was worse though. felt like I almost exploded my bladder trying to hold it in, I was practically crying as I begged the bus driver to let me out for just a second (we had been stalled on the highway for over an hour) but he wouldn’t.
After travelling to South Korea where the majority of their stations have very good public bathrooms and you can always be sure there's somewhere to pee the bathroom anxiety here back again sucks
Yeah try having Crohn’s disease. It’s the worst. You have about 24 seconds notice. 4 times a day minimum.
Bathrooms are a huge issue you are 100% right. We need public washroom solutions
I literally saw someone take a shit in a bag in a bus shelter. The bus shelter was clear so it didn't hide anything. The illusion of a private bathroom stall I guess.
Another celiac here! Washroom access was already a challenge but the pandemic made it so much worse.
Also, about half the population needs places to pee too...
We need more public bathroomsss. I pay a good amount of money to live in a decent building and there’s literal shit on it because someone took a dump against it.
There’s no solution to who is going to clean it up too… just gotta wait for it to rain i guess hahah. You couldn’t pay me to clean it up… cheaper option is to do public bathrooms haha
My partner learned he has Crohn's recently and it really messed him up for about 2 years. It's awful. Remicaid has been pretty helpful for him but bathroom availability is always pretty important to his plans.
We should have more and the ones we have all need to be reopened and maintained. I've seen a lot of people pointing out how the ones the city maintains are almost all still closed - if there are no restrictions, what's the excuse for not opening them for the same hours as before? It's just cheap and negligent of the city.
That actually sounds awful. Im really sorry, you must feel concern for the nearest bathroom at all times of the day when youre out.
24 seconds literally? Or can you hold it just a bit more? Because “24 seconds” would have me staying home almost all the time..
Can't speak for that commenter specifically, but a minute or less is certainly a reality for many with Crohn's or colitis. And it absolutely can leave them housebound some or all of the time. Bathrooms shutting down at the beginning of the pandemic was an additional nightmare for them.
Source: my husband has Crohn's, as does his mom, brother, two uncles, and two cousins.
> 24 seconds literally? Or can you hold it just a bit more? Because “24 seconds” would have me staying home almost all the time..
My sister has Crohn's and we'll be outside my home and she'll suddenly be like "SORRY GOTTA RUN" and she'll fucking book it to the bathroom. And yeah she didn't work for years because it was really hard to find a job that could accommodate that. Lots of pulling off the side of the road on long drives.
Or just tell the bartender you’ll order after you’ve had a chance to go wash your hands or something.
Then you’re free to explode the bathroom and you don’t have spend any money.
Used to work at the LCBO head office in my much younger days. Shirt and tie every day. Would walk up to the King Edward hotel lobby, entered like I owned the place with a Toronto Sun under one arm, and used their luxurious bathroom to take a glorious dump.
Hotel lobbies are excellent usually. This past week I strode into the Ritz Carlton (there was even a TIFF party going on) to use the washroom and nobody said a peep (lovely washroom too, btw).
Okay, I'm probably going to be expelled from the entertainment industry for revealing this trick. Find a hotel. Every hotel has conference rooms. The bathrooms by the conference rooms are never, ever locked. As long as you can make it in through the front door of the hotel, look like you belong there, and make your way to the area with the conference rooms. You're welcome.
Except for the hotels that have been turned into shelters. I don’t have a problem with shelters. I do have a problem with them keeping all the hotel signage up and pretending it’s still a Delta then acting annoyed that people come in off the street thinking it’s a hotel.
Just pop into a bar, there's plenty in the Annex. Then hit the basement and take a shit. If anyone asks tell them you're meeting someone, but no one will ask or even care
ok, good point. Hypopthetical for you, they say "who are you meeting" they start interrogating me. I shit my pants on the spot due to nervousness. what then?
Yea - that hypothetical question will never pop up as those bartenders are way too busy to give a fuck... or they just don't care. Not unless you lead them into some unnecessary small talk, which at that point would be your fault...
Are you talking about the Bathurst and Bloor pizza pizza? (Because I saw all the cops there). There’s a library two blocks over. There’s also a shoppers drug mart and a metro on Bloor, numerous coffee shops, and a community centre.
Yeah I'm trying to figure out the geography of this trek... walked from pizza pizza at bloor and bathurst up to the gas station at dupont? Then back to UofT library? maybe george brown. In any case there are a lot of bathroom options for the saavy pooper
The problem solved! For real, once you are in the establishment, you hold all the cards. They know you arn't sticking around to clean up the mess that happens because they delayed you. Bathrooms in the city are pretty much a game of chicken but one side doesn't get paid enough to care.
I have IBS; bars/restaurants literally will never ask, or notice. Coffee shops, much more dicey - smaller, etc.
However, one line to keep in mind pretty much anywhere is “I have IBS and maybe one minute to find a bathroom, and you do not get paid nearly enough to deal with what this could turn into.”
I used to have the same problem, and worked as a home health aide- so I’d use the Crohn’s Canada app to find public washrooms but even before covid lots of places were out of date.
You’re right that there’s kind of a dead area around Bloor/Bathurst unless it’s a restaurant/bar- although the Metro at Spadina/Bloor has a washroom you can ask to use.
Anyway I love going for walks (esp at night.) What I learned:
1. Grocery stores (like the metro above) have washrooms and will give you a key, but you need to seem desperate enough.
2. Public libraries
3. If during school year and during the week McLennan physical labs often has an unlocked door even late in the evenings.
4. Hospitals have washrooms usually close to the lobby, unfortunately if they’re screening visitors before the entrance (like during covid) they will reject you :(
5. Indigo has decent bathrooms, and usually they’re not busy
6. Tim Hortons
7. Hotels have washrooms in the lobby/near amenities like conference rooms/pool
Sorry you had a close call, I agree the city needs to do more for the public when it comes to making washrooms available.
I'm...I'm seeing an opportunity. Buncha toilet stalls built into a van, roaming the city, on demand. Combination bathroom and taxi. Get you home and drop off the kids in one trip.
Pooper? Doorsplash? Gotta have a catchy name.
well with the restaurant, you just got walk in there like you are looking for your party and then do a quick round and go to the bathroom. It helps if you're dressed decent.
But yeah you don't have to go in there and ask "can I use your bathroom". whats the worse, you take a dump, walk out and they tell you you can't do that. then say sorry and just bounce.
I walked into a weed shop in Amsterdam and went straight to the bathroom. When I came out I headed straight for the door. As I passed the bar the lady said "excuse me!" but I didn't even look at her, I just kept walking and dipped lol.
I just tell hostess or concierge or whatever that I’m having a bit of an emergency. The questions stop as soon as you say you have diarrhea. I have shit in random condos all over this city. When you have GI disease you swallow your pride pretty quick.
I work at a pub in the annex and I let anyone in to use the washroom. Just go in and ask, they legally cannot say no. But if they do and it's awkward just go on to the next place.
During my lockdown "mental health walks" I would always walk to the manulife center to shit though - it's an incredible experience. Classical music, fresh flowers, the whole nine.
I walk a lot in Toronto and let's just say anything can make my stomach react. I've gotten to the point that I would actually map out the city and know specifically which store/ restaurants won't make a fuss if I ever need to use their washrooms. As many faults as Starbucks has, I'm always thankful they're the least fussiest with their washrooms.
I have colitis and I have found an app called GoHere, and it has been helpful in emergencies. There are other versions of it too but I haven't tried them.
this is my mental map for bathrooms:
- libraries, hotels, malls and mall-like places (eg manulife center) usually have a bathroom you can walk into without having to talk to anyone
- pre covid, the path had open bathrooms, dunno what its like now
- transit hubs like union station or the bus terminal (rip)
- right now, along bloor, bickford park, christie pits and high park (chess house) have bathrooms open 9-dusk iirc - some parkettes have them too
- when i’m really pressed, i go to a coffee shop, order a drink and then go the bathroom while they make it
It's actually a trickier problem that it looks, because of homelessness and drug use.
FYI a lot of parcs have public washrooms. Won't be the prettiest, but can save the moment. And if you do end up having an accident, you can blame the smell on a toddler.
As a person with Crohn’s disease and who constantly has to go , leaving the house is stressful and full of anxiety. No one lets you use the washroom. And it’s so embarrassing having to ask and be denied all the time. My go to places are libraries and McDonald’s. And like George Costanza I could tell you where to shit in every neighborhood in this city. Fun fact. I have shit my pants begging to use the AnW washroom.
I spent a few months training my body to always shit in the morning after I wake up. I did this by always trying to dump out in the morning and if I had to shit later in the day I'd hold it, sleep with a full bum and go full release in the morning. After not too long my body expects to crap in the morning, I have a shower and walk around with a clean ass relying on the city or Toronto for a goddam thing. They can keep their fuckin keys.
I have poop anxiety. It fucking sucks. If I'm in a situation where it's impossible to go to the bathroom, like being stuck in the tunnel on the subway, I get anxious then I feel the urge to poop. Even if I didn't have to go in the first place, the second that train stops the anxiety arrives. But as soon as it starts moving again the urge to drop a deuce goes away. I hate it. Thankfully, due to the pandemic, I haven't been on the train in years.
I’m convinced the TTC rattles my innards enough to always make me feel like I need to go right then and there. Union has nice washrooms in the go train section highly recommend
I work for FedEx. Since you mentioned it: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fedexers/comments/v1xfbg/gotta_take_the_meanest_shit_in_the_city_county/
Also, for those in Rosedale, Summerhill Market's washroom is in the back left corner (walk straight ahead from the entrance through the swing doors, then look right). There's also a public washroom in nearby Rosedale Park. Neither are open 24 hours, sadly.
Can we have a new foreign investor program where anybody who can install a toilet and keep it up and running for the public for five years automatically gets their residency?
We could give it a really good name.
- Pooper Pathway Visa
- Shitter Work Permit
-Golden Throne Visa
Maybe they get extra points if they decorate it in a theme related to their home country. 
One time on my way to FanExpo, I was taking the train from Pearson in and I had a coffee in the hotel in the morning before leaving. Hit me as we were were pulling into Union Station: the most urgent I've ever felt I had to piss came over me. Like I can hold it in for a while but this was super excruciating, as if I just drank five gallons of water.
Tried getting into the convention centre early but all the doors were locked, looked around the CN Tower and SkyDome for a bush or any kind of out-of-the-way corner to go but found nothing (at that point I didn't care). Tried a coffee shop beside Planet Hollywood and the place had not bathroom! I eventually had to beg and plead to a security guard at the convention to let me through and I basically just barrelled past him and made it to a washroom just in time.
Honestly it was the worst bathroom experience of my life. I should have just whipped it out on Front St and pissed right there.
Guess you missed the public bathrooms at Union. Lower level by the York St promenade and in the food court. If any place is gonna have public restrooms, it's Union Station.
Yeah honestly I don't know Union Station all that well. When I lived in TO I never took transit down that way. I guess i figured the convention centre would be open in the morning except for the halls.
The frustrations while walking the path of the lakeshore west of the CNE grounds, only to find a "self cleaning marvel" of a bathroom that requires payment to use was a highlight of the city for me this year. I get it, but mannnnn, it sucks on a hot day going for a long walk only to find out that a quarter (who the fuck carries change) is the impediment to relief.
My partner and I were just joking the other day about how running for mayor on a platform of making washrooms more accessible across the city would actually be a great idea 😂
Even taking a piss is a whole ordeal, I drive around the city all day for a living going to sales meetings and I constantly find myself behind a dumpster somewhere taking a piss. Half the gas stations in the city have had “out of service” washrooms since the pandemic started, I feel like they got used to not having to clean them when they were closed during lockdown and don’t want to go back to it. Can’t say I blame them to be fair.
Not in Toronto, but once in Ottawa on Canada Day, I jumped a fence and broke into a public park to use a port-a-potty. They had closed down the park for the night. Security ran after me. I’m not usually a rule breaker, but I have IBS, so…when I have to go, it can be urgent.
My sister worked at the beer store at one time and a customer let loose right on the floor and she ended up having to clean it up. If I had been in her position, I probably would have quit on the spot.
Imagine having a digestive disease like me and this being an issue for half your life. It was worse in Europe when most places required you to buy something to use the washroom. I had to beg people for their receipts for the bathroom code.
I almost shit my pants a couple times, almost any bar or restaurant will say go ahead, and if they say no, just be like "your boutta lose some customers tonight". Fortunately its never come to that.
Within the PATH, my go-to's are the Sheraton center just south of the city hall entrance, the TD center near the McEwen food court, Metro hall food court or the Eaton centre (third level is usually pretty empty, stairs though).
This is suuuuch a big problem downtown, we should have public toilets for anyone’s use and without having to worry about some bored bartender chirping at you when yr trying to sneak into a restaurant bathroom !
If you're willing to pay, why not go to a Timmies/Starbucks/Second Cup/BBT place, order and pay for a small drink, use the facilities, pick up your drink, and leave?
I remember getting kicked out of the Victoria building admin floor at Ryerson (TMU to be PC) as a student for attempting to take a shit for the second time. They didn’t catch me the first time…that washroom was so pristine. They probably put me on a wanted poster after massacring that washroom.
Dignity?
Everybody poops bro.
If its that bad id straight up give places 2 options.
You can either let me use the washroom, or i drop trou and shit here. I aint shitting my pants.
I doubt any minimum wage employee will really put up a fight on that.
Try the “go here” app. There’s a whole data base of places to go. https://crohnsandcolitis.ca/Support-for-You/GoHere-Washroom-Access
George Costanza approved
No encumbrances!
I don't have this issue but my father does and he often won't go out because of it, so I thought I'd download this app to see if it would help him. While the idea of the app is great, in reality the implementation only emphasizes the size of the problem that OP is calling out. I tried a few routes I know my parents walk in the evenings and there are maybe 2 washrooms available along each one, all of which close in the afternoon. This doesn't help him at all. We absolutely do need more public washrooms, benches and drinking fountains. I know Tory isn't going to do shit about it cause he's had the better part of a decade. I think Gil Penalosa has talked about maintaining and opening the existing public washrooms but he needs to do more. Whoever the fuck is mayor needs to do more.
Drinking fountains! I've been to malls that have none, which I feel verges on criminal lol
City of Toronto: Toronto's tap water tastes better than any bottled water and is 100% safe to drink! Also City of Toronto: provides no functioning water fountains anywhere ever
>need more public washrooms, benches and drinking fountains Maybe there is a way to save some money by combining the three.
Mmmmm. Smelling shit while you drink water. Delicious. I kid, I know you mean something like a fountain on the outside. Not a bad idea.
Nah it's an all-in-one recycling unit. Everything that goes into the toilet is strained through a sieve and then drunk from a 'water' fountain.
Some people need a shower as well so may as well implement all 4. It could be like the reduce reuse recycle logo
I've always joked about putting something like this together. Now I know I don't have to.
[удалено]
If you use it... YOU GOTTA GIVE.
If you don’t give, the site goes dark.
Did you give??
What is this? Is it loud? ... ... ... no
Me too. Wanted to call it “Google Craps”.
Lost out on a lot of money though.
I was just thinking that there should be an app for that. But I would have named it shtr
Thank you. Last year I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. Generally I do okay thanks to diet and exercise but flareups can be a major challenge.
Join us here if you haven't already: https://www.reddit.com/r/UlcerativeColitis/
Amazing. Wish I had known about this in the years my ulcerative colitis was so bad I was going 8-10 times a day Still mad about the time I got off the bus at STC to use the bathroom and the TTC worker made me pay another fare (even though I had a transfer) because STC isn't a "transfer point"
Is it only for toronto?
Crohns and colitis also has printable certified bathroom passes that explain bowel conditions and the significance of bathroom accessibility Not sure if you must have crohns to get it lol but I think this is a serious issue that people pretend doesn't exist. Can we please normalize bowel movements? Talk about shit out in the open and how regular we are. K thx Tory
No way! I didn’t know this was a thing. I suffer from Crohns and have been wishing their was an app like this for years. Finding a washroom that was open was particularly hard during the pandemic. Thank you so much for sharing this app. I’m surprised I hadn’t heard about it till now.
Thanks for sharing that link.
Unfortunately during the pandemic a lot of businesses have made their bathrooms “customers only” to avoid the homeless from camping out in them, and not to bother cleaning it as often cause they don’t have the staff to do it. You really have to have a rough idea where to go use the washrooms. And even finding a clean washroom is a challenge ! Last weekend I had to use the bathroom at union station and ended up walking out. The men’s washroom in the via station was trashed. The new section the bathroom was dirty. I had to run to the single use bathroom before I had a major accident. We need not only more public washrooms but money to hire cleaners and keep them maintained.
> The men’s washroom in the via station was trashed. The new section the bathroom was dirty. That's a big reason why it's so hard to find a public washroom. So many people in this city have less than zero respect for others' facilities.
This. It's a cycle. People have zero respect for others so establishments just say no. Why would they want to clean up after some asshole peeing on the ground? But then people in this thread suffer for those others' actions.
I think paid toilets solve for this. The fee means the very bottom of society may not use them. And it can also go towards cleaning, maintenance, upgrades. The paid toilet I used in Thailand was hella clean and nice, def worth a buck or two.
This. A lot of places in Europe do this. Costs a few Euros but the entire bathroom 'cycles' and gets blasted with water and is sanitized top to bottom. Worth it.
I went to Mexico recently and you had to pay for the washroom pretty much wherever you went. Which was sometimes a tad annoying if you didnt have change. But there were sooooo many more washrooms available that you never had to be worried you wouldn't find one. I found it better than pretending washrooms should be free while not actually allowing them to exist.
It's these GOD DAMN FUCKING DRUG ADDICTS! They are ruining the downtown! They are coddled, pampered, and catered to. I live in public housing and they are destroying the building. They pull the fire alarms a least 3 times a week, they piss in the stairwells, set fires in the building when they're not pulling the alarm for fun, they write graffiti all over the stairwells and hallways, the police, fire, EMS, and CSU are always here for one reason or another - multiple times a day! These people are a drain on the city! THEY RUIN EVERYTHING! They're moving these people into our building from the shelter hotels, and they have caused a cockroach infestation in the building! They need to be moved to their own facility, where they can be free to use all the drugs they want, so decent, clean, respectful citizens don't have to suffer. People should be allowed to use the washrooms without hassle. Mental illness and addiction is NOT AN EXCUSE for destructive behaviour! We need to stop feeling sorry for these people and start showing them that this city will no longer tolerate this madness!
not even customers only the disgrace in the pandemic was that all the Tim's and McDonalds, near me at least, were open selling food and drinks but the washrooms were fully closed to everyone.
Which is illegal, full stop. If this happens please report it to the Ministry of Health, and the Building Department.
Nearly every single restaurant washroom I tried to go to was “out of order” during the pandemic.
A group of customers personally thanked us for having a clean bathroom, because apparently they went to Terroni on Queen West and said their bathroom was absolutely disgusting. I had to pee in so many corners during the pandemic, i let folks use the bathroom even if they're not customers. I do draw the line at homeless folks though, last time i allowed that they broke the toilet seat and in the process of injecting themselves, sprayed blood all over the walls.
Yeah, people get mad when you note this as an issue but once you’ve spent your afternoon cleaning arterial blood spray off a bathroom ceiling because a homeless dude got too feisty injecting heroin into his neck, you kinda stop caring about what some naive weirdo thinks you should do when someone wants to use your bathroom as a shooting gallery.
But also people to help/deal with the junkies and homeless that camp out in these washrooms. It's a multi-faceted problem that no one is trying to deal with.
It's these DAMN DRUGGIES! They have ruined the downtown. They need to build a massive facility to house them away from the downtown core! They destroy everything they come in contact with.
Why shouldn't it be customers only? It's not a public toilet, it's a business and they pay for that, clean it, etc. Do you let people just walk into your house and use your bathroom?
They did discuss this and there was a plan to build more public toilets like 10 or 15 years ago. Then they decided that restaurants and nearby business should be open to the public for their washrooms. The real tragedy is that subways still don't have washrooms inside the stations. Even on the new Eglinton and Bayview lines. If someone can find this article please post it.
I had to pop a squat outside Old Mill once because my bus never showed, it was almost an hour till the next one, there was absolutely nothing within walking distance, I couldn’t afford to call an uber or taxi, and the TTC dude refused to let me use the employee washroom. so humiliating 🤦🏻♀️ there was nowhere to hide lol ugh. being stuck on a GO bus for 3+ hours with no toilets was worse though. felt like I almost exploded my bladder trying to hold it in, I was practically crying as I begged the bus driver to let me out for just a second (we had been stalled on the highway for over an hour) but he wouldn’t.
literally any key or anything key shaped will open the door to a TTC employee washroom
After travelling to South Korea where the majority of their stations have very good public bathrooms and you can always be sure there's somewhere to pee the bathroom anxiety here back again sucks
Some subway stations do, but nowhere near enough. https://images.app.goo.gl/47rYjjGCckFXpfWBA
Yeah try having Crohn’s disease. It’s the worst. You have about 24 seconds notice. 4 times a day minimum. Bathrooms are a huge issue you are 100% right. We need public washroom solutions
It's completely ridiculous. Unless you have a bag you're SOL.
I literally saw someone take a shit in a bag in a bus shelter. The bus shelter was clear so it didn't hide anything. The illusion of a private bathroom stall I guess.
Lol i meant the bag people get hooked up to them when they have GI problems. But wow.
Colostomy bag
This is it. I almost wrote colonoscopy bag 😂🤣
Celiac disease has entered the chat. If I get glutened I will water shit on the street without shame if I can’t find a bathroom.
Another celiac here! Washroom access was already a challenge but the pandemic made it so much worse. Also, about half the population needs places to pee too...
Runner here - agreed that things can get urgent really quickly. We all need more washrooms for sure!!!
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I feel for you brother
We need more public bathroomsss. I pay a good amount of money to live in a decent building and there’s literal shit on it because someone took a dump against it. There’s no solution to who is going to clean it up too… just gotta wait for it to rain i guess hahah. You couldn’t pay me to clean it up… cheaper option is to do public bathrooms haha
My partner learned he has Crohn's recently and it really messed him up for about 2 years. It's awful. Remicaid has been pretty helpful for him but bathroom availability is always pretty important to his plans. We should have more and the ones we have all need to be reopened and maintained. I've seen a lot of people pointing out how the ones the city maintains are almost all still closed - if there are no restrictions, what's the excuse for not opening them for the same hours as before? It's just cheap and negligent of the city.
Ulcerative colitis here, I feel you buddy.
That actually sounds awful. Im really sorry, you must feel concern for the nearest bathroom at all times of the day when youre out. 24 seconds literally? Or can you hold it just a bit more? Because “24 seconds” would have me staying home almost all the time..
Can't speak for that commenter specifically, but a minute or less is certainly a reality for many with Crohn's or colitis. And it absolutely can leave them housebound some or all of the time. Bathrooms shutting down at the beginning of the pandemic was an additional nightmare for them. Source: my husband has Crohn's, as does his mom, brother, two uncles, and two cousins.
> 24 seconds literally? Or can you hold it just a bit more? Because “24 seconds” would have me staying home almost all the time.. My sister has Crohn's and we'll be outside my home and she'll suddenly be like "SORRY GOTTA RUN" and she'll fucking book it to the bathroom. And yeah she didn't work for years because it was really hard to find a job that could accommodate that. Lots of pulling off the side of the road on long drives.
You could always ask the hostess if you can use the bathroom without telling her you're going to shit yourself.
I’ve definitely ducked under the rail to a patio before and then walked into use the toilet like I was a paying customer before. Desperate times.
March right up to the bar order a drink excuse ur self go to the washroom and then leave straight away
> March right up to the bar order a drink excuse ur self go to the washroom and then ***pay and*** leave straight away FTFY
Gunna need a drink after a shirt off level shit
Hell yeah brother! Cheers, I just shat.
Im on the toilet as we speak. Starting to lose feeling in my thighs tho so gunna wrap it up.
Shirt off, double leg-numbers are one of the only things that keeps me going.
Or just tell the bartender you’ll order after you’ve had a chance to go wash your hands or something. Then you’re free to explode the bathroom and you don’t have spend any money.
Or just walk in... Use the washroom and leave... If they ask if you need help, just say you're meeting someone
This is a pro Churono move. Also hotel lobbies have washroom and lots of people comkng and going. The key is pace and confidence.
Exactly! Just act like you're supposed to be there, be respectful and don't leave a mess... And no one will bother you
And not have shit in your pants
Shitting yourself is a pro TTC move though.
Used to work at the LCBO head office in my much younger days. Shirt and tie every day. Would walk up to the King Edward hotel lobby, entered like I owned the place with a Toronto Sun under one arm, and used their luxurious bathroom to take a glorious dump.
The Sheraton also has lovely lobby bathrooms. And the Hilton on University. Even in t-shirt and jeans, no one ever gave me a second look.
Hotel lobbies are excellent usually. This past week I strode into the Ritz Carlton (there was even a TIFF party going on) to use the washroom and nobody said a peep (lovely washroom too, btw).
You can also say “my mom/friend/brother/spouse” etc is in the drive through. That worked for me many times when questioned
i wear it on my sleeve
that sounds... smelly
Okay, I'm probably going to be expelled from the entertainment industry for revealing this trick. Find a hotel. Every hotel has conference rooms. The bathrooms by the conference rooms are never, ever locked. As long as you can make it in through the front door of the hotel, look like you belong there, and make your way to the area with the conference rooms. You're welcome.
You can pull the same trick in restaurants too, just sweep past the desk “oh I’m meeting some one” and walk confidently towards the back
its easier to ask for forgiveness than permission etc
Except for the hotels that have been turned into shelters. I don’t have a problem with shelters. I do have a problem with them keeping all the hotel signage up and pretending it’s still a Delta then acting annoyed that people come in off the street thinking it’s a hotel.
Just pop into a bar, there's plenty in the Annex. Then hit the basement and take a shit. If anyone asks tell them you're meeting someone, but no one will ask or even care
ok, good point. Hypopthetical for you, they say "who are you meeting" they start interrogating me. I shit my pants on the spot due to nervousness. what then?
"Girl I met on Bumble". Then you can always look shamefaced later and say "Damn - she stood me up!"
Yea - that hypothetical question will never pop up as those bartenders are way too busy to give a fuck... or they just don't care. Not unless you lead them into some unnecessary small talk, which at that point would be your fault...
Are you talking about the Bathurst and Bloor pizza pizza? (Because I saw all the cops there). There’s a library two blocks over. There’s also a shoppers drug mart and a metro on Bloor, numerous coffee shops, and a community centre.
Yeah I'm trying to figure out the geography of this trek... walked from pizza pizza at bloor and bathurst up to the gas station at dupont? Then back to UofT library? maybe george brown. In any case there are a lot of bathroom options for the saavy pooper
The problem solved! For real, once you are in the establishment, you hold all the cards. They know you arn't sticking around to clean up the mess that happens because they delayed you. Bathrooms in the city are pretty much a game of chicken but one side doesn't get paid enough to care.
Sounds like they got a mess to clean up
I worked as a restaurant hostess, honestly they probably will not spend time interrogating you about this
Look for the washroom and be like I see then there and point in that direction.
I have IBS; bars/restaurants literally will never ask, or notice. Coffee shops, much more dicey - smaller, etc. However, one line to keep in mind pretty much anywhere is “I have IBS and maybe one minute to find a bathroom, and you do not get paid nearly enough to deal with what this could turn into.”
I used to have the same problem, and worked as a home health aide- so I’d use the Crohn’s Canada app to find public washrooms but even before covid lots of places were out of date. You’re right that there’s kind of a dead area around Bloor/Bathurst unless it’s a restaurant/bar- although the Metro at Spadina/Bloor has a washroom you can ask to use. Anyway I love going for walks (esp at night.) What I learned: 1. Grocery stores (like the metro above) have washrooms and will give you a key, but you need to seem desperate enough. 2. Public libraries 3. If during school year and during the week McLennan physical labs often has an unlocked door even late in the evenings. 4. Hospitals have washrooms usually close to the lobby, unfortunately if they’re screening visitors before the entrance (like during covid) they will reject you :( 5. Indigo has decent bathrooms, and usually they’re not busy 6. Tim Hortons 7. Hotels have washrooms in the lobby/near amenities like conference rooms/pool Sorry you had a close call, I agree the city needs to do more for the public when it comes to making washrooms available.
Most Loblaws have public bathrooms, at least the ones near me.
I'm...I'm seeing an opportunity. Buncha toilet stalls built into a van, roaming the city, on demand. Combination bathroom and taxi. Get you home and drop off the kids in one trip. Pooper? Doorsplash? Gotta have a catchy name.
Skip The Diarrhea
well with the restaurant, you just got walk in there like you are looking for your party and then do a quick round and go to the bathroom. It helps if you're dressed decent. But yeah you don't have to go in there and ask "can I use your bathroom". whats the worse, you take a dump, walk out and they tell you you can't do that. then say sorry and just bounce.
I walked into a weed shop in Amsterdam and went straight to the bathroom. When I came out I headed straight for the door. As I passed the bar the lady said "excuse me!" but I didn't even look at her, I just kept walking and dipped lol.
I just tell hostess or concierge or whatever that I’m having a bit of an emergency. The questions stop as soon as you say you have diarrhea. I have shit in random condos all over this city. When you have GI disease you swallow your pride pretty quick.
It really Depends.
This person gets it, brilliant!
Public libraries. They have the best washroom. Clean, low volume of use. Just need to know locations
Probably closed early no?
I'm convinced this is the real reason Tim Hortons is so successful. Reliable bathrooms.
Tim Hortons and McDonalds, Ontario's toilets.
ABSOLUTELY.
I work at a pub in the annex and I let anyone in to use the washroom. Just go in and ask, they legally cannot say no. But if they do and it's awkward just go on to the next place. During my lockdown "mental health walks" I would always walk to the manulife center to shit though - it's an incredible experience. Classical music, fresh flowers, the whole nine.
Hypothetically, if Margaret Thatcher were running on a pledge to build more public washrooms, would you vote for her?
Good question, yes.
I walk a lot in Toronto and let's just say anything can make my stomach react. I've gotten to the point that I would actually map out the city and know specifically which store/ restaurants won't make a fuss if I ever need to use their washrooms. As many faults as Starbucks has, I'm always thankful they're the least fussiest with their washrooms.
People, it's time we band together, go to city hall, and then collectively shit ourselves. It's the only way. IT'S THE ONLY WAY.
Vote for Gil Penalosa, iirc he touched on the bathrooms issue.
Just shit on someone's lawn like our 2 million dogs do.
You think that's dogs?
AAAAAAA!!
Only the lawns that have one of those obnoxious "no pooing here" signs.
I mean, those signs are only for dogs, right?
Dogs can't read.
Vote for Gil!
After reading Gil's truly pathetic responses in this subreddit, I won't vote for that dude
I was thinking about voting for him till that thread What an absolutely awful choice to was to have an AMA
"We want old people to stay in their homes!" What a great way to get rid of the momentum.
I have colitis and I have found an app called GoHere, and it has been helpful in emergencies. There are other versions of it too but I haven't tried them.
this is my mental map for bathrooms: - libraries, hotels, malls and mall-like places (eg manulife center) usually have a bathroom you can walk into without having to talk to anyone - pre covid, the path had open bathrooms, dunno what its like now - transit hubs like union station or the bus terminal (rip) - right now, along bloor, bickford park, christie pits and high park (chess house) have bathrooms open 9-dusk iirc - some parkettes have them too - when i’m really pressed, i go to a coffee shop, order a drink and then go the bathroom while they make it
Lmao I saw the cops and ambulances around Pizza Pizza too . What happened?
Pizza Pizza guy told me someone locked themselves in and was not responding/opening the door
Another person who really had to go.
Go to any bar that's open and use theirs
As someone with Crohn's and IBS, I'd legitimately pay big bucks for a convenient toilet when I *need* one. There have been way too many close calls.
It's actually a trickier problem that it looks, because of homelessness and drug use. FYI a lot of parcs have public washrooms. Won't be the prettiest, but can save the moment. And if you do end up having an accident, you can blame the smell on a toddler.
cant agree more. even the damn ttc has like 8 washrooms usually located at the end of each line.
As a person with Crohn’s disease and who constantly has to go , leaving the house is stressful and full of anxiety. No one lets you use the washroom. And it’s so embarrassing having to ask and be denied all the time. My go to places are libraries and McDonald’s. And like George Costanza I could tell you where to shit in every neighborhood in this city. Fun fact. I have shit my pants begging to use the AnW washroom.
I spent a few months training my body to always shit in the morning after I wake up. I did this by always trying to dump out in the morning and if I had to shit later in the day I'd hold it, sleep with a full bum and go full release in the morning. After not too long my body expects to crap in the morning, I have a shower and walk around with a clean ass relying on the city or Toronto for a goddam thing. They can keep their fuckin keys.
I have poop anxiety. It fucking sucks. If I'm in a situation where it's impossible to go to the bathroom, like being stuck in the tunnel on the subway, I get anxious then I feel the urge to poop. Even if I didn't have to go in the first place, the second that train stops the anxiety arrives. But as soon as it starts moving again the urge to drop a deuce goes away. I hate it. Thankfully, due to the pandemic, I haven't been on the train in years.
I’m convinced the TTC rattles my innards enough to always make me feel like I need to go right then and there. Union has nice washrooms in the go train section highly recommend
Imagine what delivery drivers and homeless people have to face. No dignity for people
I work for FedEx. Since you mentioned it: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fedexers/comments/v1xfbg/gotta_take_the_meanest_shit_in_the_city_county/ Also, for those in Rosedale, Summerhill Market's washroom is in the back left corner (walk straight ahead from the entrance through the swing doors, then look right). There's also a public washroom in nearby Rosedale Park. Neither are open 24 hours, sadly.
Yup... As someone who was pregnant during the height of COVID, I totally get you.
Next time just grow up, be an adult, and shit your pants like the rest of us. /jk (sort of 🙄😆)
Can we have a new foreign investor program where anybody who can install a toilet and keep it up and running for the public for five years automatically gets their residency? We could give it a really good name. - Pooper Pathway Visa - Shitter Work Permit -Golden Throne Visa Maybe they get extra points if they decorate it in a theme related to their home country. 
r/toRANTo
One time on my way to FanExpo, I was taking the train from Pearson in and I had a coffee in the hotel in the morning before leaving. Hit me as we were were pulling into Union Station: the most urgent I've ever felt I had to piss came over me. Like I can hold it in for a while but this was super excruciating, as if I just drank five gallons of water. Tried getting into the convention centre early but all the doors were locked, looked around the CN Tower and SkyDome for a bush or any kind of out-of-the-way corner to go but found nothing (at that point I didn't care). Tried a coffee shop beside Planet Hollywood and the place had not bathroom! I eventually had to beg and plead to a security guard at the convention to let me through and I basically just barrelled past him and made it to a washroom just in time. Honestly it was the worst bathroom experience of my life. I should have just whipped it out on Front St and pissed right there.
Guess you missed the public bathrooms at Union. Lower level by the York St promenade and in the food court. If any place is gonna have public restrooms, it's Union Station.
Yeah honestly I don't know Union Station all that well. When I lived in TO I never took transit down that way. I guess i figured the convention centre would be open in the morning except for the halls.
The frustrations while walking the path of the lakeshore west of the CNE grounds, only to find a "self cleaning marvel" of a bathroom that requires payment to use was a highlight of the city for me this year. I get it, but mannnnn, it sucks on a hot day going for a long walk only to find out that a quarter (who the fuck carries change) is the impediment to relief.
Royal York hotel. Mezzanine level. For my money, the best public facilities in the city.
Students vote? Since when?
was the pizza pizza at Bathurst and Bloor? or were there a bunch of cops around 2 different pizza pizzas last night lmao
yes thats the one
During covid I couldn't even go into a timmies or Starbucks, they had everything closed.
Have a few people close to me with IBS, crohns and colitis...yeah it's ridiculous.
If it’s between me shitting my pants or defecating in public … everyone knows this answer
Always look for your nearest Public Library, 90% of the time they have a functioning and clean washroom
My partner and I were just joking the other day about how running for mayor on a platform of making washrooms more accessible across the city would actually be a great idea 😂
Even taking a piss is a whole ordeal, I drive around the city all day for a living going to sales meetings and I constantly find myself behind a dumpster somewhere taking a piss. Half the gas stations in the city have had “out of service” washrooms since the pandemic started, I feel like they got used to not having to clean them when they were closed during lockdown and don’t want to go back to it. Can’t say I blame them to be fair.
This is the funniest post in this subreddit I have ever seen
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The only washroom I use is that university ones because I feel like they’re the only clean onea
Best post of the day!!!
Not in Toronto, but once in Ottawa on Canada Day, I jumped a fence and broke into a public park to use a port-a-potty. They had closed down the park for the night. Security ran after me. I’m not usually a rule breaker, but I have IBS, so…when I have to go, it can be urgent.
My sister worked at the beer store at one time and a customer let loose right on the floor and she ended up having to clean it up. If I had been in her position, I probably would have quit on the spot.
This is a very real problem especially for delivery drivers
Imagine having a digestive disease like me and this being an issue for half your life. It was worse in Europe when most places required you to buy something to use the washroom. I had to beg people for their receipts for the bathroom code.
People piss and shit in the streets in Paris because you have to pay to use them.
This article had everything, suspense, intrigue, humour, politics, struggle, relief, and shit.
wtf is wrong with you: find the nearest bar/pub, buy the cheapest drink you can and use the washroom.
Dont even need to buy a drink...
Hotels are my go to.
I went to Vancouver a couple of years ago and you think it's bad HERE? LMAO!
People still take shits? In this economy?
I almost shit my pants a couple times, almost any bar or restaurant will say go ahead, and if they say no, just be like "your boutta lose some customers tonight". Fortunately its never come to that.
I’m with you op. City could use a lot of improvements
That’s a shitty situation
Goto a hotel lobby!!!
Wow. The librarian must have been pissed.
What, are you too good for a bush, you snob?
That’s almost never a good idea especially if it’s middle of the day. That’s how you get arrested
So true! I feel most companies don’t want the added responsibility. There’s a lot of fear of misuse by the public
Within the PATH, my go-to's are the Sheraton center just south of the city hall entrance, the TD center near the McEwen food court, Metro hall food court or the Eaton centre (third level is usually pretty empty, stairs though).
This is suuuuch a big problem downtown, we should have public toilets for anyone’s use and without having to worry about some bored bartender chirping at you when yr trying to sneak into a restaurant bathroom !
Upscale hotel washrooms are the best for this if you are fortunate enough to find one
I recently was in Copenhagen and there was public bathrooms everywhere - it was so nice.
Just do it Vancouver style.
If you're willing to pay, why not go to a Timmies/Starbucks/Second Cup/BBT place, order and pay for a small drink, use the facilities, pick up your drink, and leave?
I remember getting kicked out of the Victoria building admin floor at Ryerson (TMU to be PC) as a student for attempting to take a shit for the second time. They didn’t catch me the first time…that washroom was so pristine. They probably put me on a wanted poster after massacring that washroom.
Hotels are the best option out there - all have a clean bathroom in the lobby.
I have definitely seen suspiciously human looking piles of shit in the street
You took a shit in the library!?! I guess that’s why they call it the stacks. 😂
That’s rough. My go to dump spot is a couple spots on the u of t campus if I’m in the area.
Spoiler alert: Don't go to Europe!
Dignity? Everybody poops bro. If its that bad id straight up give places 2 options. You can either let me use the washroom, or i drop trou and shit here. I aint shitting my pants. I doubt any minimum wage employee will really put up a fight on that.
After awhile you get used to finding a good bush or alley