General

Medals: check. State-of-the-art facilities: check. Toilets…?

Olympic officials warn of bathroom shortage

Need to go? You’ll have to hold it! Olympic officials say there won’t be enough toilets to accommodate the tens of thousands of sports enthusiasts who will flood Vancouver’s downtown core for the 2010 games. But how many toilets is “enough” toilets? Well, in 2006, Salt Lake City brought in 2,600 portable toilets for its downtown. And last time around, Beijing spent about $60 million updating its washroom facilities. Vancouver, on the other hand, will have only 146 “portapotties” downtown. There will be another 1,500 available at Olympic venues, but only for ticketholders.
It seems that given the shortage, it will be all the more important to have the lines moving speedily. “[We’re] looking at the possibility of having a greeter at the front door,” said Charles Gauthier, the Vancouver Downtown Business Improvement Association’s executive director, “to help people get into the right lineup, be it a washroom lineup or a lineup to get a beverage or a food item.” Just to be safe, though, you might want to forsake that morning cup of coffee!

CBC

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