Glasgow City Council should be ashamed of themselves for the lack of public toilets in the city which is an affront and disservice to its citizens and tourists who are left bewildered and inconvenienced by this dire state of affairs.

Some of Glasgow's public toilets are in a shabby condition

If you visit any other major city in Britain or abroad, you will find them well-equipped with state-of-the-art toilets and washrooms and no expense spared to attract tourists and visitors who are able to wander round shopping and visit all the landmarks and hotspots in leisurely comfort and ease.

How many of our citizens have found themselves needing to "spend a penny" or suffer from incontinence and are afraid to go outside to conduct their business because there are no public toilets available within their districts?

You can include Shawlands, Govanhill, Crosshill, Strathbungo and Mount Florida, to name but a few bereft of any washroom facilities.

How many of us have had to make use of our local public house, bookmakers or library, just to be able to relieve ourselves in the city of Glasgow?

Glasgow City Council are paying the price now for their misguided, cost-cutting decision to shut down our public toilets.

'Restore credibility'

They have failed to provide a network of modern, clean and efficient toilets to meet the needs of the population and are setting a very bad example to the millions of tourists and sightseers who visit our wonderful city.

It's time for the First Minister Jack McConnell and the Scottish Executive to intervene and address this major issue in Glasgow and quickly make available the funding and political will.

They must restore Glasgow's credibility and reputation on the international circuit as being the foremost and innovative modern city in Scotland, complete with the finest facilities and amenities in the land.

If Glasgow wishes to attract business , tourist and sport events to our "dear green city", then they will have to invest heavily in providing modern, city-wide public toilets and washrooms, to address this chronic situation.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and are not endorsed by the BBC.

We asked for your views on this article. The following comments reflect the balance of opinion we received:

I did jury duty a while back in the sheriff court and found the toilets in there to be totally vandalised. In the court! What chance does a bog on a street corner stand? To add insult to injury, I was searched on the way in, and they security guy insisted I left my wallet chain behind the desk. Aren't they searching folk and finding all the big black markers on them when they come in?
Alan, Cumbernauld

With so many, much more fundamental problems afflicting Glasgow, it is such a great shame that the writer chooses such a trivial topic for his article. Instead, with the government's own figures showing that Glasgow is consistently ranked among the most deprived cities within the UK, I feel that there are far more pressing issues at hand. Perhaps it was the higher than average incidence of unemployment, chronic ill health, violent crime and sectarianism that distracted the city council from public convenience?

Then again, it could have been their preoccupation with the laughable rebranding of the city's tattered packaging as "Glasgow: Scotland with Style". I find it difficult to believe that Glasgow's "credibility and reputation on the international circuit" is of being one of the most "foremost and innovative modern" cities in Scotland. The Glasgow that I know clings to its history as the "Second city of the Empire" like a drowning man reaching out for air. Surely this is the greater shame?
Andrew

Yes, the lack of public toilets in Glasgow is a problem, though there are plenty of pubs and cafes where one can use one. Perhaps people need to consider what has happened to previous public toilets, which were closed after being vandalised, used for various unsavoury activities, etc.
Vince, Glasgow

I agree with Peter. There has been a large number of tourists in Glasgow this year, what impression do they take home to their friends and family about our Dear Green Place? The problem is shown in secondary ways also, there are a large number of pubs (as in public houses this time) that have signs at their door saying "Toilets are for customers use only". Can we now say "I'm going to spend a half of lager" instead of the previous proverbial "penny"? Unfortunately the council will have to stop its rage against the motorist so it has time to ponder any other matter. I'm sure the money spent on the nice and shiny poles for No Loading signs and the paint for the west end parking bays could have been put towards enhancing Glasgow's 'lavatorial' image.
Neil Anderson, Glasgow

Totally agree with Peter's article. In Glasgow Green for example there is a children's play park and during summer holidays many kids on after school care went there. During a conversation with one of the helpers I learned if one of the children needed to go to the toilet they had to pack everyone up and leave. It is shocking that a park the size of Glasgow Green does not have public toilet facilities. Rather than spending money on new plants and landscaping they should be building public toilets especially when they know so many visitors go now to visit the spectacular Doulton fountain. It definitely is time for Glasgow to sort this appalling situation out.
S. Casey

I live in the west end of Glasgow, just off Byres Road and at closing time the whole area is being used as a toilet! I do have some sympathy with the people who are forced to go outside as there are no public toilets in the area save the Botanic Gardens but of course these are closed at dusk. We lag far behind the European cities we would like to be compared to and I feel sorry for visitors from those areas who have to buy something in a cafe just to go to the loo. Come on GCC spend some money on public toilets and save people from having to use the streets!
Mark Spears

Glasgow is not alone in having this problem - the same has happened in lots of other towns and cities across Britain, including my home city of Sheffield and in many areas of my previous home city, London. Where I live now there is just one "Superloo" in the shopping precinct, which is due to be removed according to the council website. So use it or LOOS it (pun intended!). Many areas of Sheffield now have no public toilets at all, and most of the few that remain are in a pretty shabby state. I suspect that Sheffield City Council has a hidden agenda to get rid of them all.

Cities such as Glasgow and Sheffield should look to Blackpool. There the council has installed a marvellous new type of toilet made by Swedish firm Danfo. They are better than the "Superloos" we have here, because instead of just one single toilet each block has about three or four WC cubicles. You still have to pay to use them, unless someone happens to come out as you are going in, but at least that makes them more vandalproof. If Blackpool Council can get it right, and if countries like Germany and Switzerland can, then surely so can any other council. I appreciate that no local authority has a bottomless pit of money to spend on services, but I think lots of councils get their priorities wrong.
Alan Yearsley, Sheffield