When you gotta go... where do you go?

There's something rotten in the city of Vancouver - and it isn't the sushi.

One public health issue has been getting a lot more media attention lately in Canada's 2010 Olympic host city to the world: a desperate lack of public washrooms. With a homeless population numbering in the thousands, this means a lot of human beings are essentially forced to shit and piss in our back alleys.

It's not just happening in the back alleys. I work downtown. Right on Granville Street outside of the shops, I can see the leavings of our drug-addicted, mentally ill street people on the sidewalk early in the morning. It's not all from dogs.

This is disgusting. It shouldn't be happening in this city, in this country. Thankfully (according to the Georgia Straight), the city has finally ordered eight self-cleaning washrooms like they already have in many big cities around the world - and not a moment too soon.

Hopefully, more will follow. Frankly, I'm getting sick of playing "dodge the piles of human waste" every morning. Our Olympic guests are likely to be even less understanding.

Tags: human waste, public washrooms, human excrement, health crisis, 2010 Olympics