The need is great in the Meppel city center. The municipality is tired of urinating in public and is therefore starting a trial with temporary public toilets. With this measure, Meppel wants to reduce persistent nuisance, especially during nights out at the weekend.
Between 2022 and July 2025, 1,096 fines were issued for urinating in public in the city center of Meppel. That amounts to an average of five to six fines per weekend. According to the municipality, the actual number of incidents is higher because not every violation is detected or fined.
The only public toilet in the city center, on Kleine Kerkstraat, has limited opening hours and offers insufficient capacity. The toilets in catering establishments are also insufficient during peak times, partly due to the limited accessibility of older buildings.
The municipality is therefore starting a pilot with temporary toilet facilities. This starts next Saturday and runs until March 1. Based on police and enforcement figures, three locations have been designated: the Groenmarkt, the Marktstraat (near the taxi stand) and the Wheem. The latter location was included because of the presence of night catering.
The toilets are installed on Saturday evening before 10 p.m. and removed on Sunday morning before 9 a.m.
In the long term, Meppel sees urilifts as a possible solution to the outdoor urination problem. These are retractable toilet columns that remain underground during the day and rise in the evening. These are already used in several Dutch cities, such as Hoogeveen.
After the pilot, the council will evaluate the results. On this basis, it will be decided whether urilifts or other public toilets will be given a structural place in the city center.