Published 13th July 2023
Public toilets are always a big talking point, and this was a lengthy discussion held at the Council meeting on Tuesday night. While it might look simple, building and managing public toilets is an expensive task, which includes a lot of logistical issues alongside it involving the location, access, and ongoing management. The yearly cost just to fix vandalism is $11,000 per toilet!
As part of our 10 year plan, construction will soon begin on a new public toilet and accessible ‘Changing Place’ on Largs Foreshore. This $1 million facility features 8 new toilets, 2 accessible toilets, a Changing Place and outdoor showers. We also have other Changing Places at the Parks Library and The Lights. Building new toilets also requires us to find and purchase suitable public land in a really accessible location that is highly patronised, which can also be a challenge.
Places such as Port Adelaide simply do not have the required space to build these facilities at the moment. We are currently looking into some creative options to address this in the short-term, while we work on an effective long-term solution. The City of PAE Public Toilet Plan 2020, sets out our ten year plan for Council owned and managed public toilets across the city. This is our first Public Toilet Plan and shows our commitment to ensuring everyone can go when they need to go.
The Plan includes 12 new public toilets, 4 replacements, and 6 refurbishments over the next 10 years, with the provision for another 8 to be considered as part of future reserve upgrades.
Our current long-term public toilet plan will be updated in 2024, read the Public Toilet Plan here.