Editorial: Urine Luck

The next time you’re urinating off an overpass, you will probably only incur a fine. Finally.

City Council passed legislation Tuesday that would ban urination and defecation in public places such as sidewalks, parks, overpasses and parking lots. It bans the same acts on private property without the owner’s consent.

Public urination is a recurring problem in areas like South Side, where bars are prevalent and public bathrooms are scarce.

While Mayor Luke Ravenstahl has yet to sign the bill into law, we doubt he’ll take the pro-urine stance considering the upcoming election.

That’s a good thing.

Previously, police officers relied on state laws against disorderly conduct and lewdness in lieu of a local law specifically prohibiting public urination. The latter potentially landed small-bladdered hooligans on the list of sex offenders. Such punishment is usually excessive and unwarranted.

The new ordinance — referred to as “the wee-wee bill” by high-minded Councilwoman Darlene Harris — merely charges offenders with a fine, a penalty more reasonable for the offense.

On this level, City Council deserves at least some applause for sympathizing with public urinators. But it’s not like we should shower them … with praise.

Prospective public urinators beware: The initial $500 fine can rapidly double. The legislation allows violators to be charged for a separate offense if they fail “to clean or remove the material.”

How?

This is essentially a $1,000 fine. No amount of remorse, willpower or sheer drunken muscle is going to cleanse the urine from a park shrub. And if it comes down to an extra $500 or prostrating oneself on a South Side sidewalk with a handful of Bounty, we’ll tell the officer to put it on our tab.

A fine of $1,000 for a boorish but natural mistake is inching toward excessive, though it’s still far better than getting lumped in with pedophiles.

However, Councilman Jim Motznik did offer a reasonable idea. Motznik believes state and local leaders should provide bathrooms in the South Side, according the Post-Gazette.

While the City Council law is necessary, more bathrooms could alleviate the problem, so long as they were permanent structures. Port-o-potties would present a whole new set of problems during the next riot. A broken bus shelter is one thing — an obliterated port-o-potty and its contents splattered across town is another.

So sign the bill, Ravenstahl. And don’t wait until after the G-20. The last thing Pittsburgh needs is an aftermath involving scores of protesters fighting sex offenses for peeing in Point State Park.