Midtown Woodward is a cesspool

[davewindsor]

DaveWindsor is a little naive about how to handle the bathrooms.

Dave wrote:
>>You can simply put a sign on the door that says time limit 5 minutes in the bathroom. Staff can have a master key and barge in after 5 minutes instead of 30. That's up to the business to set the time limit.

Ha ha, that will work real well barging in on the occasional legitimate customer. "All right matey, you had your 5 minutes out of here!

No, not at all. Other cities don't have major franchises that don't lock their washrooms.

I never said throw out a legitimate customer. Just because the sign says 5 minutes, does mean it's a hard a fast rule. It's up to the staff to determine what to do. They can knock on the door and say, are you ok? If no answer, they could open the door as a safety issue if they think someone passed out there. They could as also ask them to leave. I've also seen no loitering signs [[15 minutes in the restaurant lobby) in these fast food places too. Why not a bathroom door?

Someone said 30 minutes was excessive. I responded by saying put up a sign that says 5 minutes. It's a suggestion and a recommendation out of courtesy, not a hard and fast rule.

Dave wrote:

>>How can someone bathe in a sink? Sinks are normally only big enough to let you wash your hands.

They don't sit in the sink. They just strip naked and splash handfuls of water all over themselves and everything around them.

Splashing water on themselves is not the same as batheing in the sink. You're talking apples and oranges now.

Whether they do strip naked sounds possible, but very rare. And if they do and someone see it, staff can ask them to leave. It's that simple. They can also give them a trespass notice to get out and not come back or call the WSU campus police. Businesses can do what they normally do when someone breaks the law inside a business?

BTW - have you ever splashed water on yourself in the bathroom? Maybe outside you were sweating and touched something dirty and then wiped your forehead and a someone told you had dirt on your forehead. You went to the bathroom to splash water on your face. Ooops. Some water got on the floor. It must have been the homeless person, right? Normal people would never ever splash water on the floor.

Dave wrote:
>> As for trashing the place, a homeless person can also throw a glass bottle or rock through a storefront window. There's a million things a homeless person can do to trash a business if they wanted to.

Sure, but do you want to sit on a toilet with oily fecal matter from a junkie? Have stuff stuck to your hands because you touched a latch? Have pee soaked tissue sticking to the bottom of your shoes as out? You would probably rather pee in the street.

First off, I'm talking about peeing. As a male, I don't sit down on a dirty toilet to take a pee or touch a dirty latch, though I always wipe the seat down with toilet paper anyway.

Also, it's not just homeless people that do this. Normal people can have diarrhea and make a mess. So can seniors. And there's a lot of students that are just plain pigs. I've been to many university and mall washrooms and even nightclubs that were completely messed up from pigs. These are not done by homeless people. That's just ridiculous. Homeless people are to blame for such a small percentage.

Dave wrote:
>>Those justifications for locking the bathroom doors are so weak.

Not really.

Then again, maybe we'll put Dave in charge of barging into the bathrooms and chasing the naked people out.

LISTEN, Midtown doesn't have a monopoly on homeless people. Crack and mental illness isn't limited to Detroit. Downtown Windsor has plenty of homeless people, drug addicts and the mentally ill and the national franchises don't lock the washrooms so everyone can piss in the streets. I've seen dirty washrooms and guess what? It's the responsibility of the staff to clean it up. Not to lock people out to avoid responsibility. It's the cost of doing business. How hard is it for staff to put on some neoprene gloves and run a string mop sitting in bleached water over the washroom floor and toilet every hour? It's not asking a lot. It's called being decent and taking responsibility, not being selfish and lazy. If an employee can't stand the heat, they should get out of the kitchen and work somewhere else. There's nothing naive about it. BTW--as I said before, McDonald's didn't lock their washrooms, so what makes all these other places so special??

[davewindsor]

funny thing is, I've witnessed this in almost every city I've been to where there are drunk people of any color. People stop exaggerating. If you don't like midtown, fine, don't go....problem solved. but its no cesspool

Do we have a reading comprehension problem? I was talking about early afternoon, not at night after a hockey game or party goers coming from nightclubs. Midtown is a cesspool.

[davewindsor]

I'd say WSU is a banquet of public bathrooms in various buildings. There are even tales of homeless folk holding up nearly all night in some WSU buildings like the Manoogian which has various themed study rooms, but CCS only has access at their cultural center campus on John R. behind the DIA. The CCS Taubman center on Milwaukee is an 'electronic ID access' only building.

If I wanted to walk that far, I'd probably go there, but the McDonald's was closer after walking from around the I75?. BTW, are there signs that can be viewed from Woodward saying public washroom? I didn't see any.

[TexasT]

In all the years I was at WSU [[undergrad and graduate school), I saw a lot of odd things, but people peeing in front of stores and restaurants was not one of them. Maybe they were peeing in the alleys, I don't know, because I avoided the alleys. But there are free, accessible bathrooms in every campus building. You can also use the bathrooms at the Detroit Public Library and the College For Creative Studies.

I am less familiar with the bathroom situation farther south, but if I was walking around and had to go I would probably look for a public bathroom at one of the hospitals at the Medical Center first. Downtown, there's a food court in the basement of the Renaissance Center with a public bathroom nearby.

Yeah I have never noticed this either. And I spend quite a good amount of time in Midtown. Piss pools everywhere? Uh no.

[davewindsor]

Next time I am in Windsor, I will make sure to pee in public! Have not done that since that bar on Walker with the volleyball near the Willistead shut down.

I've seen Windsor police ticket Michiganers for everything from J walking to public urination in downtown. Be my guest.

[davewindsor]

Yeah I have never noticed this either. And I spend quite a good amount of time in Midtown. Piss pools everywhere? Uh no.

You must be blind or not paying attention because I saw it and I don't think it was unique to that day.

[TexasT]

You must be blind or not paying attention because I saw it and I don't think it was unique to that day.

Not blind and wouldnt miss urine all over the place. Other posters have said the same.

[davewindsor]

Not blind and wouldnt miss urine all over the place. Other posters have said the same.

Then you're blind.

[TexasT]

Then you're blind.

That must be it. We are all blind [[which would heighten our sense of smell btw).

[davewindsor]

That must be it. We are all blind [[which would heighten our sense of smell btw).

You're blind or you're just ignoring the problem by saying it doesn't exist instead of addressing it.

[TexasT]

You're blind or you're just ignoring the problem by saying it doesn't exist instead of addressing it.

Like others, I have not experienced this problem. You mentioned three places - one had an open bathroom, one had a bathroom available by asking, and the other was out of order [[sucks but it happens). This wouldn't be the first time I have heard of locked bathrooms - plenty of places back home in Chicago did that - so doesnt bother me.

[davewindsor]

Like others, I have not experienced this problem. You mentioned three places - one had an open bathroom, one had a bathroom available by asking, and the other was out of order [[sucks but it happens). This wouldn't be the first time I have heard of locked bathrooms - plenty of places back home in Chicago did that - so doesnt bother me.

From the I-94 up to the McDonald's, I couldn't find a single public bathroom until reaching the McDonald's, but a lot of pee on the front of buildings. If you haven't experienced this, then you probably don't walk down this corridor.

[TexasT]

BTW, I am posting from Great Lakes Coffee Co, a coffehouse right on Woodward. Open bathrooms. You know, for next time.

[davewindsor]

BTW, I am posting from Great Lakes Coffee Co, a coffehouse right on Woodward. Open bathrooms. You know, for next time.

Well, you should smell the end of your blind man stick. Next time, I'll keep that place in mind.

[JenniferL]

From the I-94 up to the McDonald's, I couldn't find a single public bathroom until reaching the McDonald's, but a lot of pee on the front of buildings. If you haven't experienced this, then you probably don't walk down this corridor.

I'm a little confused as to where exactly you were walking around. Was the freeway you crossed I-94 or I-75? I-75 crosses Woodward just north of downtown, near Comerica Park. I-94 crosses Woodward much farther to the north-- you would have passed the WSU campus and the Detroit Public Library and you'd be only a few blocks south of the New Center area [[where the Fisher Building is located). I am guessing that the freeway you crossed was I-75 and then you walked north on Woodward to the McDonald's on Woodward and Willis? The only other McDonald's I know of that's anywhere near there is in the WSU Student Center.

[Brian1979]

Because there are lots of things to do......

where is your link that proves Cass Corridor is a "cesspool"?

Cass Corridor is only a small part of Midtown.

[Zug]

Dave, I know you're feeling defensive...but you have to know that you're exaggerating and trying to act like we're the blind ones. I don't deny that people urinate outside of buildings, but it's not like it's a 2-mile long outdoor urinal along the the sidewalk, lol.

Also, the talk like it's a Detroit-only thing is just untrue. They may have every bathroom unlocked in Windsor, but there are locked bathrooms in big chains in other US big cities. I know I have personally seen this in places like Manhattan and San Francisco. Now, things may have changed since I've visited [[within the last 5 years), but it's not as uncommon as you seem to think.

It makes me wonder if you pissed yourself and still harbor anger over the embarrassment.

[p69rrh51]

Dave, I know you're feeling defensive...but you have to know that you're exaggerating and trying to act like we're the blind ones. I don't deny that people urinate outside of buildings, but it's not like it's a 2-mile long outdoor urinal along the the sidewalk, lol.

Also, the talk like it's a Detroit-only thing is just untrue. They may have every bathroom unlocked in Windsor, but there are locked bathrooms in big chains in other US big cities. I know I have personally seen this in places like Manhattan and San Francisco. Now, things may have changed since I've visited [[within the last 5 years), but it's not as uncommon as you seem to think.

It makes me wonder if you pissed yourself and still harbor anger over the embarrassment.

Zug you are making excellent well thought out observations, but I can guaranty that there will be some moronic rebuttal from him. All he wants is a soapbox to pontificate from! Everyone STOP giving him ammunition maybe then he will go away and we can get back to issues where most on here are fairly well informed. For me he has become the first one on here that I have placed on my ignore list.

[the rock]

I guess I am an old-timer when I tell you that I recall when Detroit had a couple of underground men's restrooms. I believe I refer to the late 40's. One was down at Woodwatd and Michigan Ave. I recall that singer Johnny Ray was arrested there on a solicitation charge which made the local papers. Gotta admit I am taxing the memory, but still believe I am correct. Another might have been at E. Grand Blvd. at Woodward. Maybe one of you Detroit historians can shed some light on the subject.

[davewindsor]

I'm a little confused as to where exactly you were walking around. Was the freeway you crossed I-94 or I-75? I-75 crosses Woodward just north of downtown, near Comerica Park. I-94 crosses Woodward much farther to the north-- you would have passed the WSU campus and the Detroit Public Library and you'd be only a few blocks south of the New Center area [[where the Fisher Building is located). I am guessing that the freeway you crossed was I-75 and then you walked north on Woodward to the McDonald's on Woodward and Willis? The only other McDonald's I know of that's anywhere near there is in the WSU Student Center.

Yes, it was the I-75.

[davewindsor]

Zug you are making excellent well thought out observations, but I can guaranty that there will be some moronic rebuttal from him. All he wants is a soapbox to pontificate from! Everyone STOP giving him ammunition maybe then he will go away and we can get back to issues where most on here are fairly well informed. For me he has become the first one on here that I have placed on my ignore list.

As always, you calling someone a moron makes you sound like an even bigger moron. And if I'm on your ignore list, why are you addressing me in your post? Does that make any sense? Learn to focus and be consistent. Maybe that requires you getting back on your ADD medication?

[davewindsor]

It makes me wonder if you pissed yourself and still harbor anger over the embarrassment.

If I pissed myself, why I would I use the McDonald's bathroom? There's no logic to what you're saying.

[313WX]

Did this thread seriously get 122 posts?

[old guy]

Did this thread seriously get 122 posts?

No. At least 124.

[Honky Tonk]

No. At least 124.

I get 125.