--- description: There's an open air urinal in Dolores Park in San Francisco. title: You Can Now Urinate in Public in San Francisco image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt578dd344b1d03beb/69887b402dce0148fe9e792b/open-air-urinal-2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # You Can Now Urinate in Public in San Francisco  by [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Jan 29, 2016 4:17 PM CUT  A woman looks at the fencing of an outdoor urinal at a San Francisco MUNI streetcar stop across from Dolores Park in San Francisco on Jan. 28, 2016. A woman looks at the fencing of an outdoor urinal at a San Francisco MUNI streetcar stop across from Dolores Park in San Francisco on Jan. 28, 2016.  by [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Jan 29, 2016 4:17 PM CUT San Francisco has installed an outdoor urinal in Dolores Park near the Mission District as part of the more than $20 million renovation of the recreation area in an attempt to combat a “rampant” public urination issue. “The more options we can give them to relieve themselves, the better for the parkgoers,” San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener [told the Associated Press](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/4a337142ff9d48119fa1f03cfc074eca/san-francisco-park-reopens-new-outdoor-urinal "undefined"). Last summer, the city’s public works division made headlines by experimenting with coating some walls with a paint that causes fluid to splash back onto public urinators. > [](https://twitter.com/sfpublicworks/status/624287527860576256) The park also now has 27 toilets for people who prefer to have privacy. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4199747/open-air-urinal-san-francisco/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4199747/open-air-urinal-san-francisco/"},"headline":"You Can Now Urinate in Public in San Francisco","datePublished":"2016-01-29T16:17:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:29:27.465Z","description":"An outdoor urinal has been set up in Dolores Park","url":"https://time.com/4199747/open-air-urinal-san-francisco/","keywords":["Newsfeed","society"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt578dd344b1d03beb/69887b402dce0148fe9e792b/open-air-urinal-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. Waxman","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt578dd344b1d03beb/69887b402dce0148fe9e792b/open-air-urinal-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Open-Air-Urinal-2","caption":"A woman looks at the fencing of an outdoor urinal at a San Francisco MUNI streetcar stop across from Dolores Park in San Francisco on Jan. 28, 2016.","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4199747/open-air-urinal-san-francisco/","name":"You Can Now Urinate in Public in San Francisco"}}]}] ```