Night owls who want to relieve themselves in the street could be surprised.
In London, the trendy and very visited district of Soho, is testing a strange product: a kind of "anti-pee paint" sprayed on certain walls in an attempt to prevent people from urinating in public places.
The product creates a water-repellent layer on which the liquid bounces.
Supporting a bottle of water, Aicha Less, deputy head of Westminster City Council, tests the device: "It's water resistant, so the wall stays dry".
“It's a real problem, I guess all over the UK but especially in Soho which is the heart of the city.
This is where most visitors come, it is a lively area.
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"We don't know if it will work"
In the alleys of the district, some signs have also flowered, indicating: "This wall is not a urinal", "there is anti-pee paint in this area".
Mary O'Connor, neighborhood co-ordinator with Westminster City Council, testified: "It was (
note: the smell of urine
) a problem that was raised regularly, especially at weekends, from Thursday to Sunday, where we have a lot of visitors here in Westminster, especially in Soho, and these visitors were urinating in alleys like this and other streets.
Therefore, it was causing problems with the locals here, the community, the businesses coming out of their homes on Monday mornings and being faced with the smell of urine.”
Another testimony, that of Tim Lord, president of the Soho Society and resident of the district for 30 years.
“It's a reaction from the council… The new council, let's be clear, they are going to reopen one of the underground toilets, they have introduced 18 spaces where they are installing temporary toilets on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, which is better than nothing even if we think they are a bit ugly.
And they are testing this new technology (
Editor's note: paint
) to deter people from urinating in the street.
But it's only been around for a short time, we don't know if it's going to work.