Angelika We had mentioned in a previous issue that our neighborhood recreational area, Dolores Park, has turned into a major attraction, to the point where it recently started resembling Oktoberfest on the weekends (Rundbrief 04/2015). A while ago, the city completed its renovation to the sound of a whopping 20.6 million Dollars, and now there's bike racks, improved tennis and basketball courts, the lawn is brand new and offers lush greens, and significant number of restrooms were built. But because of the non-stop party scene on the weekends, the number of local resident complaints has skyrocketed, mainly because the neighbors don't find it very appealing that party goers kept releaved themselves onto their plants or doorways. The city reacted quickly and spearheaded a one of a kind pilot project in Dolores Park, namely the erection of the first San Francisco open air urinal, following designs popular in Paris, Amsterdam, and other European cities. It might not be too much of a stretch to claim that this project is probably unparalleled in the entire United States.

Alas, it almost seems that the city ran out of money half-way through the project, as the pissoir in Dolores Park looks quite unfinished. It only consists of a semi circle of wired fence with a white plastic cover, but opens up to plain view in the back. The fact that the J Church train stops right at the pissoir renders this project a complete travesty. Maybe one of the city planners should have invested in a business trip to Paris to pick the local urinal guru's brain there before wasting a whopping $15,000 for this completely ridiculous knockoff in San Francisco.

At first, we thought that no one was going to use it. To be honest, it's a mystery to me how anyone would even recognize the new structure as a public urinal. But last weekend, we saw with our own eyes that it's become actual quite popular with the park visitors, and we saw a long lines of people forming eager to use it. The weather was nice and sunny and the park was packed with sun worshippers who, after consuming alcoholic beverages, apparently felt the need to releave themselves using the newly built urinal. Other scofflaws though still went about their business in the park.

As you might know, the Americans are a somewhat prude and litigious society, so it didn't take long for some obscure organization to come forward and demand dismantling of the newly erected pissoir. The conservative "Pacific Justice Institute" of Sacramento took issue with the fact that urinal users releaved themselves in a somewhat public location, and worried that passers by would see things they weren't supposed to see. Which reminds me of my first visit to the United States, when I noticed that retail staff in clothing stores would make sure the fitting room curtains were entirely closed whenever I accidentally left a small gap open while trying something on. Back then I found it pretty amusing, what's interesting with the issue at hand, though, is that it came up at all, since San Francisco is very different in this respect and naked people are not an uncommon sight in the streets here.

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• More topics you might be interested in:

  	San Francisco Shantytown
  	Perly Perlman's last resting place
  	Sedona/Arizona
  	Top Product: Arlo Surveillance Cameras
  	Monster Waves at Mavericks