I’m astonished.

Haha. When I read this I assumed that it was in Europe or something, but Victoria took me right off guard. I live in Victoria! Can’t wait to see one of these babies.

why europe?? europe rules.. intersting article john.. never stood still by this piece of history

This reminds me of a movie - i don’t know if it was Superman, Robocop, Batman or something else…
The guy had a underground shelter(pallace) and exited and enterd via cylindrical elevator, something just like this pissoar, only that it was a elevator and not a pissoar

Definitely something you’d expect in forward-thinking Europe, not Canada (interesting how “Nomar” got so defensive when someone said the same thing…).

I have pissed in public on many occasions while partying, so this is a great idea I think!

I want to go underground when I pee.

Did anybody notice the device exhibit “the post urination shiver” in the shot of the urinal rising (02:18)? Funny.

[...] By day, the Urilift is lowered below street level for a nice clean look. Then at night, an operator comes by with a remote and the Urilift hydraulically lifts to sidewalk level in about two minutes, and is ready to serve all the nighttime party animals who don’t mind peeing in a very exposed public urinal.read more | digg story [...]

That promo video is a little strange, but… strangely effective. These hydraulic pee-collectors are certainly more attractive than those ugly Porto-potties, but oh my, look at the price! That’s almost enough to buy a PS3.

[...] The World’s Most High Tech Urinal [...]

Sure, nobody is going to go underground in it, but what about the bum that falls asleep on top of it. Imagine his delight when he wakes up at 2:00 am to the sound of the falls. I think this is a pretty good idea, Paris could use a few, and I think Ozzy would agree so could the Alamo.

what about women - how are they supposed to use it?

what is that awesome music at 3:10??? on my screen the banana’s dancing above are in sync with the beats

[...] Read more (John Chow) [...]

75k…. wow. i think it’s good for places where ppl r bold enuff 2 take a piss during the day. just one thing…. how about washing hands after piss? ewwwwww imagine shaking hands wit dat person :s

[...] 链接 | 来源 gadgets [...]

That is not real, totally photoshopped!

Wait a second. You’re in Vancouver (so within 100km of me) and yet the urinals are to be installed in Victoria (a 30 min HeliJet ride way) - it’s municipal jurisdiction - unless you own property in both cities it’s unlikely you’d be paying for them.

Oh well, hopefully they’ll work ok and not smell. It’s great to see another Vancouverite around.

Few questions: how does the urinal know when to go down into the ground? If it’s not in use, it goes back underground, so by what parameter does it determine it to be the optimal time to “hide”? Secondly, what if the darn thing malfunctions as somebody goes on top of the cap while it’s underground and it suddenly starts elevating? I guess it’s ok if it moves slowly enough, but if there’s a vehicle above it and it screws up by elevating at that point in time, there will be some lawsuits flying.

wow, that’s a great idea. But wouldn’t it be easier to make a solid building (like a landmark item or something scenic) that has a sliding door that opens once a day? That would drastically reduce the costs of the hydraulics.

[...]  via [johnchow] [...]

Robert: No one can get caught by surprise whilst sleeping on one when it is raised (or lowered) as a technician has to come by and use a remote control within a few feet of it to make it go up or down. They will make sure no one is on top of it or using it before it is raised or lowered.

i have seen and use similar urinals in amsterdam, that rise from the ground at night, how is this different

They are the same as the units in Amsterdam. Just this is the first time this system is being install in North America.

I would personally like a tap to wash my hands in, but I prefer this than people freely urinating in the street.

[...] By day, the Urilift is lowered below street level for a nice clean look. Then at night, an operator comes by with a remote and the Urilift hydraulically lifts to sidewalk level in about two minutes, and is ready to serve all the nighttime party animals who don’t mind peeing in a very exposed public urinal.read more | digg story [...]

I’ve also used these urinals in Amsterdam. Comes in real handy if you really need to GO! The only problem is that the urinals are smelly and dirty. People throw their cigarette butts, gum etc. in the pots which cause them to overflow…

Ahh…good to see my hometown is still up to no good.

[...] ��Դ��john chow Bookmarks ��ǩ « Harry Porter and the Order of the Phoenix����Ԥ��Ƭ-10���Ӷ���?!                          [...]

[...] The World’s Most High Tech Urinal (from Digg) - In an effort to handle its nighttime public urination problem, Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, is considering installing urinals that disappear below street level during the day. Unlike the automated, self-cleaning toilets planned for Toronto and Vancouver, which are enclosed booths with doors that that automatically open after a set time period, the Urilift system is a two-meter high stainless steel cylinder with three alcoves, each with a urinal, and no doors. [...]

Really stupid idea. Why build toilets that are only useable for half the population half the time. Build normal toilets instead, and make sure that they are kept clean. Lack of public restrooms is a problem during both day and night.

So now we spend $75K on a pissing pot because some people can’t control themselves . Where does it end? Anyone else feeling angry?

pretty cool urinal hope the will be in dutchland soon to !!

You men are sick, SICK!

haha!

[...] More photographs and a video here. [...]

They should play the song from the starwars (the march of the imperials) when that thing rises from the ground.

I’ve just noticed your RSS readership has gone up to 1498 from around 950 in a couple of hours! Howdya do that?!

Very cool. We need these in Daytona.

There has been one of these on North Road Durham UK for at least the past two years

For the attentive listener, these things are already installed in the netherlands (dutch cops, dutch numberplates, yes even dutch taxi’s). So it is NOT photoshopped (jessie). I think it’s a great idea, much better then the plastic 4 sided ones here in Eindhoven (NL) that indeed stand in the way during the day (as seen in the movie).

Slashdotted.

smile you’re on slashdot

/.’d

http://hardware.slashdot.org/hardware/06/11/19/1359237.shtml

I guess there was some political pressures to make it happen specifically in Victoria. I was told NDP’s leader, Jack Layton, is a big fan of Victoria and a party animal as well. Seems he would like to avoid being shot by a camera in a compromising position. These urinals make sense for him.

[...] When I first read John Chow’s post on this, I thought it was a joke, but having done some research, it appears it’s real. =O [...]

I am seriously pissed that they don’t have a unisex model. I have NO PROBLEM with urinating in public, and I think the only reason guys are more likely to “urinate indiscriminately” is that they are better able to get away with it, rather than any inherent lack of modesty. If I could just whip it out without more elaborate disrobing and squatting I’d pee on a church, too!

I wonder, if women just started peeing on the thing, if they would come up with a unisex model? It would just need a little trough we could straddle…

dude one of those were in amsterdam!!!! i thought i was seeing shit,for apparent reasons, when it was moving.

Interesting concept, but I question the basic idea of NOT having them available during the day. Did anyone notice that the problem examples at the beginning of the video all appeared to be during the day?

I also agree with the comments about no hand washing facilities and the question, of course, “what about the women?”

[...] The World’s Most High Tech Urinal [johnchow] [...]

Aquí no hay de eso!! Las mujeres no mean?

We have one of those in Reading, Berkshire, UK. It’s been there for a few years. Feels a bit odd using it (just outside the 3B’s - back of M&S) but since i’m not shy…..

[...] In an effort to handle its nighttime public urination problem, Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, is considering installing high-tech urinals that disappear below street level during the day. Then at night, an operator comes by with a remote and the Urilift hydraulically lifts to sidewalk level in about two minutes. Then the unit is ready to serve all the nighttime party animals who don’t mind peeing in a very exposed public urinal. The $75,000 system has been installed across the Netherlands, and have spread to London and Belfast, but Victoria will be the first North American city to try them out. ~Saffleur~ General | [...]

where do we, girls, pee?

[...] from engadget: [...]

[...] Filed under: Misc. Gadgets [...]

You know who really needs these…. New Orleans and OSU this past weekend during the Michigan game.