This story caught my eye, especially after a recent experience.

An excerpt from the globeandmail.com piece:

To its endless embarrassment, Vancouver has a shameful problem you won't be seeing on any tourism brochures: In the shadows of snow-capped mountain peaks, mounds of human waste are piling up in downtown streets.

The problem has so alarmed civic officials that they have ordered a handful of pricey, public bathroom booths to be strategically placed in high-traffic downtown strips. It also plans to hire an urban anthropologist to track the mess and pinpoint the problem spots.

Public-health officials and business owners are also alarmed, saying the phenomenon reflects badly on the entire city.

"There are certain things that people are entitled to -- no more, no less," said Dave Jones, director of crime prevention services for the Vancouver Police Department.

"And access to a washroom in terms of human dignity is one of those things. If we want people to act like animals, then we should treat them like animals and make them go in the outdoors.

"If we want people to behave with dignity, we should give them the opportunity to have dignity. This is very undignified."

It's hoped the high-tech, self-cleaning bathrooms -- at up to $300,000 apiece -- will relieve the disturbing trend that has seen Vancouver streets, alleys and parking lots increasingly used as public latrines.