Public urinals in Amsterdam

These are what the permanent urinals look like:
http://tinyurl.com/ya867uq8 They are mostly located in the Red Light District.

In addition, on the weekends the city puts out portable urinals in different locations around the city center:
http://tinyurl.com/ybebfrgy It's not easy to avoid these Fri Sat Sunday.

It will especially freak out your daughter if she notices that they drain out directly on to the street.

Thank you for that, and for taking something that's probably quite silly, seriously! We live in a town where there's a festival every July 1st and dozens and dozens of porta potties move in, so she plans to visit a friend for this holiday every year! The first picture isn't too bad, but the second ones even from someone who's not bothered by them, I have to say they seem quite gross! We are going last 2 days of September first week of October so maybe there won't be as many around because it's not summer.

maybe there won't be as many around because it's not summer.

You're welcome. Amsterdam doesn't really have an off-season anymore. Cheap flights from discount airlines mean weekends are always busy with visitors from all corners of Europe:(
You can also find those portable urinals in the west end of London.

Oh well, she'll have to deal with it sometime - that's life!

It isn't like she has to use one.

Generally (but not always) it is only men. Women still need to come up with another plan unless they use a device.

Michael,

Then what's the point of having them if they drain directly onto the street? The whole point is to provide sanitary waste disposal in areas that do not have sufficient facilities to handle the needs of the passerby.

The permanent ones are connected to the sewer. They don't have a water supply and can get fairly gross between cleanings, but they don't simply drain onto the street unless they are damaged. The temporary ones work like a port-a-potty does where there is space inside to contain the added materials. If you see what looks like drainage around these urinals onto the pavement, it is most likely bad aim by the users, or in the case of the portable ones a possibility that they are full.

The point is to stop people from urinating on the side of historic buildings and ruining the masonry. Perhaps the portable ones do have some sort holding space. But it wouldn't take very long for them to overflow, especially with a lot of weekend drinking, in a city that draws thousand of people each weekend to do just that.

Exhibit A: http://oi63.tinypic.com/2ljm4xz.jpg
Exhibit B: https://betoalin.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/public_urinal.jpg?w=1250&h=

Mark, perhaps you know that this un-civic behavior by men has been a problem at least since Roman Empire times. I would not jump to conclusions from a few photos, unless you are acquainted with some Dutch plumbers. In Nijmegen, maybe on Queen's Day, I noticed that the temporary, mainly metal devices had mating, deeply recessed in the street receptacles - so it was clear there was a connection to the sewers. I would assume that some of the photos posted here are units placed over an existing catch basin in the street. After all, many European streets are flushed almost daily - as opposed to our own job-destroying aversion to paying for municipal employees ... who can do that work.

In Antwerp, Belgium, I noted rather large temporary facilities running down the middle of the red-light street ( Schippersstraat, naturally ... ) but only set up at dusk. They had considerable plumbing, I think including running water rinses.

We saw only a few urinals in Amsterdam and all were the round screen type designed for men. In fact I have a pic of hubby funning around in one of the pissoirs right outside of Centraal. And yes, it seemed to empty right into the street. If I needed a toilet I had to go in to a museum or restaurant. I don't recall seeing any porta potties anywhere, even in Dam Square on New Year's Eve where they would be needed most.