Designing London’s Recovery

Public toilets are necessary but can be dangerous for women and girls.

I do not want at any cost for toilets to be 'gender-neutral'. This means that any man - ANY man - who declares himself a woman for the day can enter a space with locking cubicles, day or night, when women and girls are vulnerable and often alone. Our dignity, privacy and safety matter. Toilets are single sex (not single gender) facilities for a reason - our safety.
They much be kept that way.

I think that all rail and Tube stations and bus stations should have toilets.

There aren't nearly enough decent public toilets in London. Locally, all I can think of is one in the library (a single toilet) and the ones in my local parks in Brent and that's it. The ones in the park are not very nice to use. They get cleaned often enough, but they don't always have toilet seats or paper, they are dark, dingy and cold, and can be closed unexpectedly.

It's a nightmare if you're out and about and have to change a baby or toddler somewhere that isn't warm and clean, or with a pull down table/safe surface. Most of the time if you're caught short, you're forced into a venue that doesn't appreciate people using the facilities without being a paying customer, or have to buy something just to use it.

There are places that charge; the public loos take coins in Paddington Station/tap card for entry in Richmond Park) but I always think this in exclusionary, especially cash less venues, but it's better than not having the facilities at all.

Toilets should be cleaned regularly and provided with soap and toilet tissue, paper towel or working hand dryers, floors should be cleaned and hooks on the door so you can hang up your handbag and not have to place it on the floor. Sanitary bins should be provided and emptied regularly. Lighting should be good, and toilet should be open in the evenings to fit in with pub and restaurant opening hours. Councils should be obliged to provide public toilets. Toilets should also have disabled access and baby change facilities and be signposted. They should also be placed close to shops and amenities, not hidden away where people cannot find them. It should also be obligatory for large stores to provide toilets - eg department stores and DIY stores like B & Q, Homebase etc.

Due to cancer treatment I need to use the loo often while out. I mainly go into shops where I know there are public toilets. It would be great to be able to relax and not always be on alert for the nearest loo. More toilets would really help.

My main concerns are hygiene and safety. I avoid toilets that are hidden away underground or along corridors if there are not other people around. If there is paper and puddles on the floor and toilets are blocked or in flushed I would walk out unless desperate. I also avoid unisex toilets. As a woman I prefer the safety of a Ladies toilet. I don’t want to walk past a row of men urinating. Or find myself next to a man when I’m using the wash basin.

Good signage to tell me where to find a toilet
Opening hours extended
Clean, well maintained

I prefer to use toilets in cafes where they are part of a community toilet scheme. I think there is a map showing where all the toilets are in our area. Toilets need to be clean and safe. I think community toilets are better than toilets in public areas unless those toilets are supervised eg.at a busy railway station.

Well lit and safe, clean with adequate facilities (toilet paper, soap, hand drier, hand sanitiser), in a populated area

I would never use a gender neutral toilet should keep ladies and mend separate

Since the pandemic, more toilets have been closed, for example, at Golders Green bus station. The Leicester Square toilets have also not been properly maintained. Most of the time, I try to use coffee shop, pub or supermarket toilets, but this is not always possible. I have a bladder condition, and travelling in London can be a nightmare, even though I know most areas fairly well. It is very humiliating having to ask people to use their toilet - people don't like non-customers using their toilets - public toilets are about dignity. I know that some people are concerned about drug users, but if drug users are also receiving dignity and have places to go, this isn't a problem.

Accessibility / cost / ‘technical’ loos : Some of the ones in the parks in central London mean having a contactless debit/credit card; when my touch card wasn’t working there was no way to access (or even pay using cash) except climbing under the barrier. The toilets should be free to use anyway. Bad idea making people pay.

The electric door ones are terrifying. I try never to use them and would never allow a child to go in alone in case the door gets stuck.

The busiest areas in London seem to have the least loos. Oxford street/regent street/ carneby street had their loos close! Why? No toilets anywhere on main shopping streets ie Ken High Street/Kings Road etc.

The urinary leash: Women and those with disabilities are more likely to suffer negatively from lack of public toilets. It’s on the threshold of being inhumane, not to mention discriminatory, not having a clean private place where people can deal with sanitation.

I am so glad all major train stations now have free public loos. More please! Including some at more underground stations and shopping places.