has NO public restroom facilities. (as far as I can determine)
I would hazard a guess that "most" US cities are just like Mobile in this respect. Honestly, it is disgraceful.

city parks or at ball fields. These are usually only open in summer, but at least it is something.

City Hall has restrooms for the public. Some parks no doubt also do, along with other city-owned buildings where the public is served. Public libraries are an example.

However, such restrooms are not conveniently locate and are scarce.

Worse, there are no direction signs in most cities to indicate where such facilities can be found. In most European cities, you'll find signage providing directions to public toilets. Not in the United States, though. It's one of the reasons this country is unfriendly to both domestic and foreign tourists and visitors.

I remember having to go on shopping trips for my mother as a little kid and running into pay toilets everywhere i went. I had to climb under many a bathroom door to save my dimes.

Some jurisdictions have made them illegal in public places.

Paid my dime...

that will just encourage all those homeless people to congregate there" Said about a local park that doesn't have facilities. They used to put them on a bus and send them out of the county. Sadly, not a lot has changed here. Would you believe they still love Twitler?

Literally.

We went to NYC last year and I was appalled. I mean, I can see that a business wouldn't want to fund a restroom for non-customers, but a lot don't even provide one for customers. We stopped in for lunch at a nice little place and I couldn't even wash my hands before eating. Fortunately I always have some hand wipes in my purse.

We were shopping in Hard Rock and my daughter-in-law thought she'd use the restroom there. There were actually security guards by the restroom doors.

The stench is enough to keep me from wanting to visit NYC often. I do want to go back and take in a Colbert show one of these days, but we'll see. I did learn that if you look for places that somewhat cater to children (like the M&M store) there are restrooms. There are long lines, and they were messy, but it was better than nothing.

There are guides to public restrooms for most major cities on the internet. They can be helpful, but are often out of date. One of the problems in cities is the small number of places like MacDonalds, gas stations, and other such facilities. If you're dressed reasonably well, you can generally walk into any large hotel or office buildings and use the restrooms on the entry level. If there's a public library, there are always restrooms in those, and libraries are usually walk-in friendly. Otherwise you'll need some money to buy something in most places. Then, you can ask to use the restroom

They're locked and the cashier has the key.

Aside from the large train stations (Grand Central, Penn), the best place to use the restrooms is Macy's flagship store. Store's way too big for people to notice.

Thanks for the info!

“aye, there's the rub”

They will tell you the restrooms are not public;
they are for their customers.

However, gas stations (yuck) usually serve all.

Parks and malls have them too. Grocery stores, as well.

they maintain clean, open bathrooms all over the world.

this is a frequent topic of conversation on my local everyblock. the fact that the public transit system in chicago has no bathrooms is barbaric.

those restrooms are locked permanently. There are public restrooms in Grand Central Station. Department stores have public restrooms, if you can find them and you're presentable enough to not get thrown out at the entrance.

any fast food restaurant would be cleaner and better. And then just buy a coffee or water or something to justify it.

I’ve been at a Kimber in big cities where the bathrooms are locked and they will give the key to paying customers only.

they complain about homeless doing their business in public areas but then have no low cost housing and no public restrooms. Idiots.

They have people that maintain the facilities and they charge you about $.50.

in cities. There may be some government buildings or parks that have bathrooms for the public, but even those are being closed. There aren't enough, but the kiosks in San Francisco are a really good idea. They get an automatic cleaning after every use, it's like they flush the building. That should be the norm not having facilities just exacerbates the problem.
This post though is piggybacking off the latest Starbucks incident and that is not quite the same issue. It appears Starbucks was not particularly enforcing their policy until the offenders were not white. I think that is why the CEO made the trip to meet the two guys.
To sum it up cities need more public bathrooms and the US has to get a better handle on racial equality.

Many have side entrances where one can head straight to the bathroom without ever going by the counter. We utilize such facilities on long road trips.

which is why the pay option in Europe/Asia is better. They're not even that clean, but there are safety measures and some have staff working there.

It sucks pretty bad for folks who don't have the money but that's a different problem. People could be kind to strangers and give some restroom money to a desperate person waiting outside.

people also use them to smoke cigarettes. In establishments with one toilet, a line can form waiting for someone to shoot up.

just to enter and find it smelling the unmistakable scent of weed smoke or have a broken syringe on the floor and a definitely high dude stumble out.

Just basic hygiene. You need a place to wash your hands. We did encounter a Starbucks in Texas that had no restrooms at all. Very surprised...but then again, it was Texas. They open carry guns and liquor, too.

it can be an emergency, too.

The local paper had a weekly column called “Where to Go” about, well, yes. It was a shock to my Southern soul, but it sure was useful.

Another factor is that people are regularly overdosing in public restrooms. It is not only a problem in restaurants, but also libraries and similar facilities. Having the coroner arrive can be bad for business., not to mention the needles that are left.

One chain is experimenting with special lighting inside their restrooms so it is harder to see veins.

I've also noticed that many buildings in cities are designed with no public restrooms on the first floor. That is an attempt to make it harder for non-customers to regularly come in and use the bathrooms off the street.

However, that's another matter, really. Clearly the people who were not allowed use of the facilities were clearly discriminated against by an officious manager on account of race. For me, frankly, an establishment that restricts use of its toilets is one I do not patronize, simply on ethical grounds.

I do not, for example, patronize Starbucks. Instead, I patronize a local coffee company's locations, where restrooms are not locked and where I can use those facilities before ordering, if I choose or need to. I notice things like that, and make my choices based on the way the business operates.

I live in an urban area. We have similar problems here. I'm familiar with the problems, but am also adamant about the need for public toilets. When people need a toilet in a city, one should be available nearby, wherever you are. That is not the case, sadly.

I'm a older (70s) white man who normally dresses in reasonably nice clothing. When I ask to use a restroom, it's vanishingly rare that I cannot do so. For many people, that is not the case. It's one of those situations where my privilege is clear. That should not be so.

If your business is a public accommodation, you are not allowed to use membership in a protected class as the basis for access to the facilities (whether it is an actual policy, or merely pattern and practice that results in discriminatory access).

If you do, you should expect to be sued under one or more of the civil rights laws.

as do the laws regarding places of public accommodation. Use of restrooms and toilets are often not part of those laws.

Memory vague. 20+ yrs since I was there.

I have noticed that very few states operate public restrooms along the highways, and there's degrees. As a 30 something female traveling alone, I know which ones I trust (safety wise) and which ones I steer clear of. The government owned ones are either a 'rest stop' that has commercial space (fast food, convenience store, gas) or a private 'rest area' that typically has restrooms, (outdoor) picnic tables, and vending machines. For safety reasons, I avoid the latter.

However, in most states I've traveled in, there's no such thing as those. It's usually a truck stop type (Flying J, Pilot, etc) place or a McDonald's along the side of the highway (my general rule of thumb is I want to see the place from the highway for easy on/off access). I generally don't care as long as the bathrooms are clean.

In a city like New York, even places like McDonald's won't let you use the restrooms if you are not a customer (usually they're locked and you have to get a key from the cashier. When I went to the Women's March there this year, I (along with many) went at Penn Station upon arrival and purposely didn't consume any liquids as I knew there'd be no place to go. This is similar in most large cities (whereas if you stop by a suburban/rural McD's, they don't care). This is also a city where one TP company (Charmin?) did pop-up restrooms in Times Square. There's clearly a demand for more restrooms.

they were kept very clean, too.