Stinky bus station

lilpup · November-23-10, 08:48 AM

not a surprise, really

http://www.freep.com/article/2010112...-room-problems

If the reporter or Mr. Henderson are reading please note with regard to the article's closing quote - in Michigan it is illegal to offer restrooms to the public without at least one stall being free of charge. You could follow up on that person's allegation.

**pffft** · November-23-10, 09:22 AM

I'm a little baffled by the "some even use the restroom to wash their cats" detail. How many homeless people have cats?

And if you're homeless and hungry, how important is it to bathe an animal that, famously, bathes itself every day?

DetroitPole · November-23-10, 09:25 AM

This is classic Detroit. We can't even operate a shiny bus station that we tore down a city block to build. So rather than make it functional, we're just going to change its name so it can keep being shitty. Hey assholes, this isn't GM Bankruptcy restructuring, it's cleaning the toilets at a bus depot - it shouldn't be hard to manage. How about the dispshits on council use their personal staffers who make six figures to clean it? Or can I earmark some of my exorbidant tax dollars for a guy with a mop at the bus depot?

$22.5 million for that pile of garbage. Oh yeah, Gary, you know what is really an insult to Rosa Parks? Detroit City Council for the past 30 years.

So what is with these make-work Clean Downtown guys who will sweep in one spot for 8 hours? What about all the cops at Tigers games? You know, the six officers it requires to get people accross Woodward from the Fox to Comerica Park! We can't possibly redeploy out personnel in a strategic way to restock toilet paper? How about the fatties in the City County building? There's hundreds of them and they could probably do something besides play solitare all day and screw up my property records. A little manual labor would do them good.

**bailey** · November-23-10, 10:30 AM

Originally Posted by DetroitPole

This is classic Detroit. We can't even operate a shiny bus station that we tore down a city block to build. So rather than make it functional, we're just going to change its name so it can keep being shitty. Hey assholes, this isn't GM Bankruptcy restructuring, it's cleaning the toilets at a bus depot - it shouldn't be hard to manage. How about the dispshits on council use their personal staffers who make six figures to clean it? Or can I earmark some of my exorbidant tax dollars for a guy with a mop at the bus depot?

$22.5 million for that pile of garbage. Oh yeah, Gary, you know what is really an insult to Rosa Parks? Detroit City Council for the past 30 years.

So what is with these make-work Clean Downtown guys who will sweep in one spot for 8 hours? What about all the cops at Tigers games? You know, the six officers it requires to get people accross Woodward from the Fox to Comerica Park! We can't possibly redeploy out personnel in a strategic way to restock toilet paper? How about the fatties in the City County building? There's hundreds of them and they could probably do something besides play solitare all day and screw up my property records. A little manual labor would do them good.

Just a little clarification for your rant.... the "Clean Downtown" folks are not city employees..and I would guess have no responsibility to clean the DDOT's facility.

The Clean Downtown team also maintains landscaping in public areas and provides support to many of downtown Detroit’s largest public events, festivals and sporting events.
This privately-funded program is staffed by workers from Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit who bring pride and enthusiasm to their jobs of keeping downtown Detroit looking its best.

But really I think your ire is directed at the wrong people. Cops mopping floors? c'mon. How about direct some of that anger to the clear lack of access control? bar the homeless and the crazies from entry, problem solved. apparently all that takes is a metal detector.

Anthony Kelley, 42, who also is homeless, said the problem will worsen until the city provides better options.
"There aren't any places to go to the bathroom," Kelley said. "Some places charge money. We can't afford that."

and Detroit can't afford to clean up after you. Go to a shelter. Get out of downtown. Get treatment. Work for Goodwill industries.

**iheartthed** · November-23-10, 10:33 AM

Originally Posted by bailey

How about direct some of that anger to the clear lack of access control? bar the homeless and the crazies from entry, problem solved. apparently all that takes is a metal detector.

You can't deny someone access to a public facility.

**bailey** · November-23-10, 10:35 AM

Originally Posted by iheartthed

You can't deny someone access to a public facility.

you can make them go through security. per that article that is keeping them out of CAYMAC

**Russix** · November-23-10, 10:40 AM

Originally Posted by bailey

you can make them go through security. per that article that is keeping them out of CAYMAC

Yes, this will be many times cheaper than paying to actually keep the place clean.

**kraig** · November-23-10, 10:41 AM

Don't be fooled. Clean Downtown is funded by Detroit taxpayers.

**iheartthed** · November-23-10, 10:49 AM

Originally Posted by bailey

you can make them go through security. per that article that is keeping them out of CAYMAC

But the security at CAYMC serves a function, since both the mayor's office and the city council member offices are in the building. Why not just pay someone to clean the bathrooms?

Homeless people using restrooms in train and bus stations are a non-issue as far as I'm concerned. I haven't used a train or bus station in a major city yet where that practice wasn't the norm.

DetroitPole · November-23-10, 10:40 AM

Originally Posted by bailey

Just a little clarification for your rant.... the "Clean Downtown" folks are not city employees..and I would guess have no responsibility to clean the DDOT's facility.
But really I think your ire is directed at the wrong people. Cops mopping floors? c'mon. How about direct some of that anger to the clear lack of access control? bar the homeless and the crazies from entry, problem solved. apparently all that takes is a metal detector.

and Detroit can't afford to clean up after you. Go to a shelter. Get out of downtown. Get treatment. Work for Goodwill industries.

I mean cops there for public safety, what with all the drug slinging and other mischief.

I'm just trying to illustrate that in a city where an incalculable amount of money is squandered or lost to corruption, and a city of 900,000 tax-payers, that there IS, not should be, money somewhere to pay a guy with a mop and a rent-a-cop at a brand new multi-million dollar transit facility.

How do you bar the homeless who ride the buses? What about the resident bus riders or general public who may outwardly seem homeless[[i.e. stinky, weird, shabby - ever ride DDOT? That's a lot of people)? How do we selectively bar people from a public restroom[[which is illegal)? A metal detector does not detect crazy or someone who is going to poop on the walls or homelessness, by the way - it detects metal. It seems your plan is one that needs clarification.

**bailey** · November-23-10, 10:46 AM

Originally Posted by DetroitPole

I mean cops there for public safety, what with all the drug slinging and other mischief.

I'm just trying to illustrate that in a city where an incalculable amount of money is squandered or lost to corruption, and a city of 900,000 tax-payers, that there IS, not should be, money somewhere to pay a guy with a mop and a rent-a-cop at a brand new multi-million dollar transit facility.

How do you bar the homeless who ride the buses? What about the resident bus riders or general public who may outwardly seem homeless[[i.e. stinky, weird, shabby - ever ride DDOT? That's a lot of people)? How do we selectively bar people from a public restroom[[which is illegal)? A metal detector does not detect crazy or someone who is going to poop on the walls or homelessness, by the way - it detects metal. It seems your plan is one that needs clarification.

well, per the article, Mr homelessguy seems to be saying that the metal detectors and security make it a hassle to use the restrooms at CAYMAC, so they don't . They go to the bus station where there is no one there to bother them. make it a bit more difficult to get in and you've eliminated part of the problem at least.

**Gannon** · November-23-10, 09:35 AM

Well, we could rename it for the special influence the Kilpatrick family bestowed upon the city. Extraordinaire eau de toilette.

**Bella** · November-23-10, 09:50 AM

I am still floored that $22.5 mil was put into this thing instead of allocating the funds elsewhere. Ya know, like schools.

I don't get the cat thing, either. Maybe they mean p*ssy. ugh, I hate that word.

I wish there was a way to give people points for the posts I read on this forum.

**Russix** · November-23-10, 10:34 AM

How many stalls does the men's or women's restroom have? Please don't tell me their's only one or two for a facility that handles more people than a highway rest area.

**Khartoum** · November-23-10, 01:31 PM

Originally Posted by Russix

How many stalls does the men's or women's restroom have? Please don't tell me their's only one or two for a facility that handles more people than a highway rest area.

I think I remember there being either 2 or 3 stalls in the men's bathroom.

If you charged 25 cents to use the stall, you would simply have people back behind the Farwell shitting & pissing all over.

**Zacha341** · November-24-10, 10:42 PM

I had the 'joy' of riding public transportation this summer while my car was down for extensive repairs requiring moneys applied over a time frame. I was often near that RP station catching a connector DOT... I didn't even consider any public bathroom for safety and hygiene reasons being a woman. I noted a building nearby's adjoining alleyway reeking of urine and what not. And I observed a homeless woman going into an alley behind the station for purposes of toileting... it was a bit much. Not sure what the answer is, but I'd not use any public bathroom in downtown as presented now.

Originally Posted by Khartoum

I think I remember there being either 2 or 3 stalls in the men's bathroom.

If you charged 25 cents to use the stall, you would simply have people back behind the Farwell shitting & pissing all over.

**Detroitnerd** · November-23-10, 10:40 AM

Now laughing at last year's argument with Hudinka, who made fun of me for not liking the design of the transit center. Hud had said: "Afterall, would you rather wait for a bus in a dark, noisy, smelly, polluted garage or a light, open, breezy plaza"

**NorthofNormal** · November-23-10, 10:48 AM

bar the homeless and the crazies from entry, problem solved

Head on over to the thread on the Corktown beating/dragging case to see some of the effects of barring the homeless from bathroom facilities. It sounds like a fair number of problems would be solved if the soup kitchen over there kept the potties open all day. Everybody poops--even the homeless and crazy. If you don't give them a flushable place to do it, they'll find someplace else. I'm with DetroitPole: the solution is to get someone to clean the things regularly.

**pffft** · November-23-10, 02:08 PM

Originally Posted by NorthofNormal

Head on over to the thread on the Corktown beating/dragging case to see some of the effects of barring the homeless from bathroom facilities. It sounds like a fair number of problems would be solved if the soup kitchen over there kept the potties open all day. Everybody poops--even the homeless and crazy. If you don't give them a flushable place to do it, they'll find someplace else. I'm with DetroitPole: the solution is to get someone to clean the things regularly.

Ditto. Do you want to see the homeless relieving themselves in public -- many don't even try to hide in an alley and do it. It's bad enough downtown, I can't imagine putting up with it in the neighborhoods like Corktown.

**jcole** · November-23-10, 01:42 PM

What about this:

Not so many decades ago, the phrase "Paris public toilets" evoked images of smelly streetcorner pissoirs, hole-in-the-floor squat toilets at neighborhood cafés, and lavatories ruled by female attendants with the demeanor of prison guards. Today, nearly all of the vespasiennes or pissoirs are gone, and tourists of both sexes are well-served by modern, self-cleaning toilets known as sanisettes on boulevards and in parks throughout the city.

The sanisettes come in several styles, but all have the same basic design: You press a button [[or, in some cases, insert a coin) to open the door, and when you step inside, a sensor in the floor causes the door to close and lock. You do your business, then open the door and exit. The door closes again, the toilet is automatically cleaned and disinfected by a motorized mechanism, and a green light signals that the lavatory is ready for the next user.

http://europeforvisitors.com/paris/a...ic-toilets.htm
Yes it would cost upfront, but think of the savings in the long run. Who says America has the best standard of living in the world?

**jbd441** · November-23-10, 02:09 PM

Or Detroit can do what NYC did and just close off all bathrooms downtown except for one. You can't use store bathrooms unless you buy something there unless it is a chain store and those bathrooms have waiting lines and are in the same condition as the bus station. And banks unless you are a large depositor.,... haha!

I've seen a man in a expensive suite take a leak in a corner of the Fuse building on 7th Ave midday....... forget New Years Eve.

lilpup · November-23-10, 02:07 PM

I think a homeless charity or similar program could easily provide Port-a-Johns at some of the most commonly frequented hangouts, if the city allows it. It's done during summer months at one of the main places in Ann Arbor.

And again, unless the law has recently changed, if any public restrooms are made available at least one stall has to be free of charge. [[How distinctly I remember this from Hudson's and their dime stalls).

**Hypestyles** · November-23-10, 02:22 PM

is there possibly a nonprofit outfit that can take over management of the facility.. what homeless shelters are downtown?

**EastsideAl** · November-23-10, 03:11 PM

The real problem seems to pretty clearly be not enough restrooms. Not a couple of restrooms too many.

Given the kind of use these sorts if public facilities normally get no matter what city they're in, and Detroit's homeless and destitute population, you think someone might have anticipated this problem somewhere along the way in the design, construction and operation of the place.

It also sounds like there may be some deficiencies in the city contractor's plumbing [[imagine that!) if those toilets keep clogging like that.

**Russix** · November-23-10, 07:12 PM

Originally Posted by EastsideAl

The real problem seems to pretty clearly be not enough restrooms. Not a couple of restrooms too many.

Given the kind of use these sorts if public facilities normally get no matter what city they're in, and Detroit's homeless and destitute population, you think someone might have anticipated this problem somewhere along the way in the design, construction and operation of the place.

It also sounds like there may be some deficiencies in the city contractor's plumbing [[imagine that!) if those toilets keep clogging like that.

Two design failures then? Not enough bathrooms and not adequate enough to handle the load[[no pun intended). I see no reason why the restrooms at Rosa Parks TC were not built to the same scale as rest areas on the interstate. It should have been fairly obvious that this would become Downtown Detroit's central restroom. I rather the city maintain a large public restroom with my tax dollars then deal with stepping on human feces on the streets or having the unfortunate experience of witnessing someone take a crap in public, again.