Tired of nighttime public urination, Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, Canada, is considering installing this "Urilift" high-tech urinal that can be lowered down into the ground during the day (for a nice clean look) and popped back up at night.
John Chow has the scoop (and video):
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. Then the unit is ready to serve all the nighttime party animals who don’t mind peeing in a very exposed public urinal.
Because there are no doors, there is little danger of any unauthorized or illegal activities. San Francisco and Seattle’s auto-toilets have been derided as dens for drug dealers and prostitutes. In addition, the presence of an attendant nearby to lower the system in the morning means it’s unlikely a drunken reveler who slumps over the Urilift will wake up under the street.
Thanks!