Signs like this are being discouraged as Vancouver welcomes the world for the Olympics. (CBC)

Tens of thousands of people are expected to hit Vancouver's downtown core during the Olympics, and there's now some concern there won't be enough washrooms for them.

The Salt Lake City Olympics in 2006 provided 2,600 portable toilets in the downtown area. The number provided in Beijing is not available, but the city did spend about $60 million on new washrooms.

Vancouver plans to have 146 portable toilets at selected "live sites" downtown, with another 1,500 at all Olympic venues for ticketholders.

There are two public washrooms in the city, at Stanley Park and on the Downtown Eastside.

The Vancouver Downtown Business Improvement Association foresees a backup at available washrooms, and it's asking members to open up to non-customers.

"[We're] also looking at the possibility of having a greeter at the front door to help get people into the right lineup, be it a washroom lineup or a lineup to get a beverage or a food item," said Charles Gauthier, the association's executive director.

A Vancouver city spokesman said he believes people will find relief within a reasonable amount of time.

"You can walk from one of the live sites to the other … in 15 minutes, so none of the existing washrooms are all that far away," said Peter Judd, general manager of Olympic and Paralympic operations for the city.

A Vancouver business association is concerned about a shortage of public washrooms during the Olympics. (CBC)

The manager of the Wicked Cafe in Vancouver was not sure how she would handle an onslaught of desperate Olympic tourists.

"We're going to assess that as we go," Emilie Nagahama said. "I guess there's a lot of shops that are going have to do this."