Its a very sad state of affairs that public toilets are a necessity that can become obsolete. Everyone has to use the loo, and as far as i am aware it is a basic human right to have access to a toilet.
I have an oversensitive bladder nerve, i can have literally an egg cup full of fluid in there and it freaks out and makes me feel like i've got half a bathful in there and i'm stretched to bursting. I get literally 3 minutes if that to get to a toilet, there's no holding it. Sadly i also have OCD and IBS, it takes me an hour to use the toilet as i can never only have a wee, no matter how hard i try, and if you've ever had diarrhoea you'll understand why. Add in the OCD rituals and my need for as close to silence as possible, it just would not work. Even a disabled toilet (which i would qualify for a radar key, my similarly affected sister has one) wouldn't have suitable provisions, and given theres usually only one i couldn't justify taking up the only disabled loo for an hour. The result is i can only go out in a car, and have to stick very close enough to home that when i get uncomfortable i run straight to the car. There have been many an abandoned shopping basket half full and the likes. Being able to use public toilets would give me some more freedom, but i am all too aware how many places just don't have toilets. I'd still be restricted to just supermarkets and shopping centres like the trafford centre, so not even much better off than i am now. Plenty of women have post child birth bladder issues, add in all the elderly, and little kiddies, how has this been allowed ot happen that they just don't exist, and worse, the very few that do, have turnstiles you need change to get in!
If the councils are going to take away public loos, they should be the ones to compensate local places with loos for none customers who inevitably need to use them. No person should be left in a position of wetting themselves, regardless of age or medical condition, because the cannot afford to buy something to gain access to a loo.
Was quite interested by Kelly Osbourne wetting herself in london last week when a Starbucks refused her to use the loo as she didn't have time to buy anything as was desperate. The store did issue a statement that they don't actually have a customer loo (surely must have a staff one?) as the premises is too small and to go the the store a few streets away. Clearly she couldn't make it, anywhere with a loo, even shops too small for customer ones but have staff ones, should allow people a wee ffs.