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Edmonton is considering outdoor urinals along infamous Whyte Avenue for the late-night revellers whose bladders are often bursting with beer.

Calgary has approved a plan to install portable public toilets at 18 spots around town and hopes to replace them with permanent structures.

Vancouver has already built a state-of-the-art public loo at the corner of Terminal Avenue and Main Street, and has plans for seven more in the downtown core.

Finally, we are getting some potty talk from our politicians and, more importantly, some potty actions.

Yet most of the country remains dismally bereft of public toilets.

On the surface, the lack of public facilities may not seem like the most pressing public health issue in the country, but it should not be pooh-poohed as insignificant.

Urination and defecation are basic human needs. For many, those needs can become critical. This includes not only children and pregnant women, but a growing legion of people with health issues that influence their bodily functions - incontinence, diabetes, colorectal cancer, irritable bowel syndrome, prostatitis, shingles, stroke and dementia, to name a few.

But even those in perfect health can't hold it forever, especially if they obey the endless admonitions to drink eight glasses of water a day.

We are told, too, of the public-health benefits of frequent handwashing and how it is essential to limit the spread of germs, yet sinks with water, soap and towels are few and far between.

The failure to account for the most basic of human needs in the design, construction and maintenance of public spaces reeks of hypocrisy and shortsightedness.

It is unthinkable (and in most cases illegal) to build a mall, restaurant or another space frequented by the public that does not include public restrooms.

So why do cities exempt themselves from this rule, and this logic?

Have you ever tried to find a public washroom in the subway system in either Toronto or Montreal? Or along Ottawa's Rideau Canal? The Montreal Jazz Festival prides itself on drawing hundreds of thousands to its live outdoor shows, but the number of public toilets available to concertgoers is laughable.

Of course, those who spend a lot of time out and about have their tricks, like strolling purposefully into a swank hotel to use the bathroom, slipping into a fast-food restaurant, or seeking out the facilities hidden away in the nether regions of The Bay.

But should the public have to depend on the benevolence of McDonald's, Starbucks and the Hilton to exercise basic bodily functions? And what happens when these establishments crack down, restricting who can and cannot use their washrooms?

It should be part of the basic social contract that where there are public spaces - shopping areas, parks, sports fields, beaches, bike paths and so on - there should be public toilets.

Cities come up with all kinds of excuses to not build them. Bathrooms, we are told, are magnets for drug users, sex workers and sexual predators. They are difficult to keep clean and expensive to maintain.

Of course, these same arguments can apply to all public spaces. When public facilities - be they washrooms, climbing structures or trails - are neglected and laws are not enforced they quickly degrade. The answer is not to refuse to build them, but to maintain them.

Besides, if our public policies implicitly accept, if not encourage, homelessness, the least we can do is provide washrooms for street people. The alternative, as city-dwellers know all too well, is human waste in alleyways, and doorways that reek of urine.

It is absurd to crack down on "bad behaviour" such as public urination when no alternative is available. It is equally absurd to urge people to attend public gatherings when they cannot satisfy their urges.

Public washrooms should not be built strictly for the homeless and late-night revellers, but for the broader public. Other countries, notably Australia and parts of Europe, have done so successfully. The facilities are impeccable and sometimes even staffed by human beings.

Technology has also laid waste to many of the arguments against public toilets. The hi-tech public washroom in Vancouver, for example, is a marvel. The doors slide open at the touch of a button and voice instructions are provided. To deter illicit activities, a sensor detects if there is more than one person in a stall, and the door opens automatically after 12 minutes. After each use, the washroom is automatically cleaned and disinfected.

Finally, the facilities come at no cost to taxpayers. The owner (CBS/JC Decaux in Vancouver) is responsible for maintaining the bathroom and earns revenue from advertising, just as private companies do with garbage cans, bike racks and bus shelters.

There is a crying need for public toilets. The technology exists. The cost is minimal. It's time for cities to get off the pot and start fleshing out (or perhaps flushing out) their plans to provide the public with much-needed relief.