Public Works crews have finished painting nine city walls with pee-repellant paint and more are in the works. The painted surfaces make urine spray right back onto the shoes and pants of unsuspecting reflief-seekers. It’s the city’s latest attempt to clean up urine-soaked alleyways and walls.

“We are piloting it to see if we can discourage people from peeing at many of our hot spots,” Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru said. “Nobody wants to smell urine. We are trying different things to try to make San Francisco smell nice and look beautiful.”

The latest pee-prevention tactic should help curb late-night revelers and indigents who answer nature’s call on city walls, Nuru said.

He demonstrated a painted wall’s effectiveness at the 16th Street Bart Plaza Thursday. A sign reading, “Hold it! This wall is not a public restroom. Please respect San Francisco and seek relief in an appropriate place,” hung above it. It doesn’t explicitly state that the wall will fire back, so some surprises are in store.

“Watch your shoes over there, brother,” Nuru said, spraying water from a plastic bottle against the pee-proof wall. The liquid splashed right back, soaking the bottom of his pants. “The team that did the testing, they were excited because the liquid bounces back more than we thought it would. Anything we can do to deter people is a good thing.”

Public urination has long been a problem in San Francisco. Legislation banning it in 2002 but has seen little success, despite a $50-to-$500 fine.

Since January, there have been 375 requests to steam clean urine. They made up 5 percent of the 7,504 requests Public Works received, which cover everything from feces to pigeon droppings. Overall, steam cleaning requests have dropped 17 percent since last summer, largely thanks to the Pit Stop program that provides public rest rooms.

The paint has proved to be effective in Europe. It was applied to walls in Hamburg’s St. Pauli quarter, where beer drinkers often can’t be bothered to find a bathroom. The experiment captured the attention of San Francisco officials.

“Based on Hamburg, we know this pilot program is going to work,” Nuru said. “It will reduce the number of people using the walls. I really think it will deter them.”

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http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Pee-on-these-S-F-walls-Be-prepared-for-them-to-6402239.php