Designing London’s Recovery

I think public toilets are essential in every area - especially shopping areas - as restaurants and pubs only want their patrons to use them

I haven't seen any in High Barnet, Whetstone or Southgate where I shop. I guess the local authority counts on people using the supermarket toilets so the small independent businesses don't get enough custom.

I consider how badly I need to use the toilet. If the toilets look like they are dirty or if there are people milling about in them that puts me off but if I need to go badly I would still use them.
Very grateful the toilets in train stations are now free to use - a literal and figurative relief! It would be nice to have public toilets in every London neighbourhood high street, especially those with lively nightlife as it would discourage public urination.

Make any public toilets more visible. Ask private operators to let non-consuming public use their toilets without embarrassment, eg pubs, cafes. No need for gender separation, we don't have it at home.

East Suffolk District Council do public toilets really well - plenty of them in car parks and other obvious places, always clean and good to use. Have a study of theirs in say, Woodbridge.

I have a family member with a health condition that requires easy access to a toilet, which makes it very difficult for her to visit me in London because there are so few public toilets. When she's here we are very limited in what we can do and often spend much of the time at home.
For myself--I use them in parks or railway stations. Often notice how poorly maintained public toilets are (when they exist)--especially the frequent lack of handwashing facilities. There is often either no soap, no water or neither.
The question about public toilets at night made me stop and reflect because as a woman I am not sure I would feel safe using a public toilet at night.

All public disabled toilets conform to Document M. You need to be able to go from sitting to standing and vice versa, and walk a few paces in order to use them. People in wheelchairs cannot use this design because grab rails are not in the right places. If someone helps you get onto the toilet you can't get off it. There are two vertical grab bars on either side of the sink immediately to your left. The nearest is too close. The one on the other side of the sink is too far away to reach. The sink does not offer any handhold, though I have come across taps pulled off.

Not being able to use a toilet restricts me to whatever I can do within a maximum of four hours away from home and my own toilet. In practice, this means the supermarkets at Archway to the north of where I live and the supermarkets in Camden, to the south. It is like living in a shoebox. Perhaps people who have always been disabled may accept this as their lot, but I used to go everywhere by bicycle and take walking holidays.

A division of Arup has been commissioned by the Department of Levelling up, which is responsible for building regulations, to revise Document M. When contacted they would not reveal how they have gathered information. They were not aware of Caroline Russell's first survey for the GLA of disabled toilets. Nor had they contacted obvious organisations such as the Research Institute for Disabled Consumers, the British Toilet Association and charities such as the MS Society.

People suggest Changing Places toilets, but these are intended for very disabled people with two helpers. The toilet is located well away from side walls and there is nothing for someone like me to hold onto.

I had to visit a hospital recently for the purposes of taking part in a medical study. The only way they found I could go to the toilet was by me pulling myself up to standing with the vertical grab rails either side of the mirror whilst they put a bedpan on the seat of my wheelchair. It was horrible.

public toilets in Japan whether in parks, tube, rai or bus stations are almost always clean and well maintained. So, I don't see why they can't be here. Tourists in London must have real problems and considering the money they bring in we should help them and help ourselves. I suffer from prostate problems so the lack of available toilets in tube stations is a real issue and I can't see why LT can't keep them clean and open while the Tube is running.

I would think that for most people, public toilets in London are regarded as being the "toilet of last resort", as, sadly, many are never open due to repeated vandalism (I live in Croydon-- in my local High Street, a wheelchair accessible , self-cleansing "automatic" loo, very spacious, beautiful to look at, was provided at vast expense about 10 years back. Sadly, it is almost never open. Always out of order -- well , I would guess that it is out of order for 90% of the time. Presumably vandalism ?

I occasionally visit Crystal Palace Park with the grandchildren. The existing toilets are absolutely awful. They date from probably the 1950's.
Sadly, there vare too many vandals out there, and too many people who can't use a loo properly.

I really don't know the solution, other than to bring back toilet attendants, like they had in the 1960's .
Design gets so far-- but without day to day 3 times a day cleaning and replenishing of soap and loo rolls, not even the most fantastic loo will be good afer a few days.

There seems to be a great need for public toilets, primarily for men who regularly urinate in the park and in corners of the street, particularly under collonades behind pillars. Women do sometimes also find places to urinate in public, but I see fewer of them. Both sexes defecate, particularly at night, in street corners beside the park. Why not have pissoirs as in Paris, for men?

It is time this appalling problem was addressed properly. As I age with numerous health conditions, the lack of toilet provision impacts on the ability of this committed Londoner to enjoy London. I now have to plan my journeys by knowing where I can find toilets and too few are clean or sanitary.

I was pleased to see the toilets in major train stations were made free. I believe there should be more public toilets across the capital, which are clean, safe and well maintained, funded by restaurants, bars and shops, so that the streets stop becoming awash with urine by certain times of the day. I have been to a toilet in a central London park where I had to pay using card and it still was not very clean or well looked after. This is really not good enough.

Toilets need to be clean, well lit and open. On a recent day out with my grandchildren two lots of toilets were closed during the day which isn't helpful for a two and four year old; not for anybody taking medication that necessitates frequent trips to the toilet

The public toilets in London are a disgrace, few and far between, poorly maintained and I only use them as a last resort. I generally look for a department store or supermarket instead. I would be more comfortable using public toilets if they were of the standard found in supermarkets, (eg. Tesco and Sainsbury’s superstores), airports, (eg City Airport) and department stores, ( eg. M&S)

What a pathetic survey. What about safety? What about my actual needs and how lack of toilets impacts of my life? I can't see how anything in this survey will contribute to improvements. This is a serious matter, particularly to older women like myself.

We need maps of public toilets (or shops/restaurants which provide access) which can be accessed by those without smart phones - i.e. those of us at an age where we are most likely to need them.

The single most important thing is that they should exist. Of course they should be clean, accessible, ideally free etc, but these are all factors only if the thing is there in the first place.

I have medical condition which requires regular access to toilets. This limits my ability to travel if there few/no toilets. Of course, in some areas there may be pubs available or shops. But very few large shops now with toilets and only open limited times. Cafes and pubs do not like non customers using them. Scandalous that billions spent on Crossrail and no new toilets (or very few). Tubes have no toilets despite often long journeys. Take a look at Willesden Junction, a very busy interchange. Thank God there are toilets on platform 3. See how well used they are BUT they are filthy, disgusting. This is 21st century London ALL Human beings have to urinate and defecate. What are they meant to do?

We need to discuss if toilets should be free. I remember it was one old penny but one cubicle was left free of charge. The cleaning and repair costs have to be paid for.
Or have electronic opening doors with a travel card for instance or combine cash and card. Public toilets need to be open 24/7 so there must be monitoring of use and users.