Public Toilet Strategy 2013 - City of Armadale

More documents

Recommendations

Info

PART ONE: 6 INTRODUCTION Public toilets are a necessity for anyone who wants access to pleasant public spaces. Access to good quality public toilets is something that we should all value – not just in terms of public health and sanitation, but because they help to create attractive, inclusive and welcoming places. The business case for investment in good toilet provision has been shown to increase retail turnover, tourist numbers, and economic growth. “You cannot cost PT’s simply on what the loo paper and bricks might end up costing, you have got to see it as part of a broader context of a neighbourhood that is supporting and enabling its members to take part and get out and about.” 1 In the past public toilets were designed to be out of public view, often without forethought for safety, aesthetic or accessibility concerns. With the changing requirements from today’s community, however, toilet facilities are now required to fulfil greater expectations of the public … to be modern, well appointed, light filled, close to focal activities, clean and functioning properly, and most importantly, located with clear and open sight lines so that people of all ages and physical abilities can use them without encountering threatening or anti-social behaviour. Public toilets are even more important to certain sections of our society, including older people, disabled people, women, families with young children and tourists. The City of Armadale therefore has to be responsive to a range of current issues in order to fulfil these expectations and demands and to provide alternatives to prevent public toilets from becoming havens for anti-social behaviour and crime. 7 OUTLINE OF DOCUMENT This document is divided into four parts: Part One provides the context by investigating a global perspective on public toilets and the function, roles and responsibilities of Western Australian local governments pertaining to public toilets. Part Two will describe the approach, aims and methodology followed to draft a public toilet strategy for the City of Armadale. Part Three will provide an overview of the existing situation and issues pertaining to public toilet facilities, management and maintenance in the City of Armadale. This part includes an analysis of the potential resources on the City of Armadale Asset Register. Part Four will discuss strategic choices in terms of future decisions and provide the implementation plan in terms of recommendations regarding establishment and disestablishment of existing public toilet facilities and recommendations in general. 1 Pamela Holmes, Head of charity organisation “Help the Aged” Page 6
8 GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE Automated Public Toilets have become popular around the world as they promote sanitation (perceived cleanliness because of hands-free operation) and hard fixtures are designed to minimise vandalism. Research and development has created a range of automated toilet suppliers and products that are valued for their ease of maintenance and code compliance. “Automated toilets have been common fixtures on European sidewalks for decades. But they have been less popular in American cities, where concerns including their appearance cleanliness and tendency to attract illegal activity have slowed their installation. In Seattle, problems arose almost immediately. Users left so much trash behind that the automated floor scrubbers had to be disabled, and prostitutes and drug users found privacy behind the toilets’ locked doors. Seattle officials say the project here failed because the toilets, which are to close on Aug. 1, were placed in neighbourhoods that already had many drug users and transients. Rather than automated toilets, some cities are looking for cheaper alternatives that would be cleaned by human attendants.” 2 “Although they are not the cause of problems in the neighbourhood, they are contributing to problems. They give people a place to hide out, to duck out of sight.” 3 However, in Europe and many other countries throughout the world, the APT concept has been acknowledged as addressing issues such as vandalism, security and environmental impact. It is more likely nowadays to believe that no unsupervised installation can prevent vandalism. Even with the most vandal resistant appliances, an unsupervised facility will eventually become sub-standard. Over the last 20 years, designers and architects worldwide have begun to see the need to plan and build public toilets with the real or potential threat of crime in mind and to incorporate Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles (see Appendix 1) in the original design phase of all public toilets. It is also part of the Australian Toilet Organisation’s (ATO’s) vision to create public pride in public toilets, thereby creating local guardianship of public toilets. Their main goal, locally, is to transform the public’s expectations of and relationship to public toilets by raising awareness about issues and providing solutions. 9 ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS 9.1 Mandate to provide public toilets Times have changed, as have the pressures and duties on local authorities. While much of the new provision is on a smaller scale than that it replaces, there are many instances of the total withdrawal of toilet facilities. The lack of compulsion of local authorities to provide public toilets, together with a perception of nuisance associate with them, has arguably resulted in a steady decline in the provision of public toilets in recent years. What was an essential service is now a desirable, discretionary and non-statutory function that competes for finite resources. Although the City has no legislative responsibility to provide public toilets other than those associated with building regulations for the stock of Council owned public buildings, they have shown to improve local amenity and support active participation in recreational, social and commercial activity within the City for visitors and residents alike. 2 Christopher Maag, The New York Times, 17 July 2008 3 Seattle (Washington, USA) City Council member, Sally Clark, at a news conference, March 2008 Page 7
Page 1 and 2: Public Toilet Strategy 2013
Page 3 and 4: 14.3.1 Armadale Arena 14 14.3.2 Arm
Page 5: 5 DESIGN GUIDELINES To conclude, th
Page 9 and 10: provide a payment to participating
Page 11 and 12: 13.2 Step Two: Assessment Following
Page 13 and 14: The provision of these toilet facil
Page 15 and 16: 14.3.2 Armadale Town Hall 14.3.2.1
Page 17 and 18: 14.3.4 Champion Lakes Recreation Pa
Page 19 and 20: 14.3.6 Frye Park 14.3.6.1 Type/Loca
Page 21 and 22: 14.3.8 Kelmscott Library 14.3.8.1 T
Page 23 and 24: 14.3.10 Memorial Park 14.3.10.1 Typ
Page 25 and 26: 14.3.12 Rushton Park 14.3.12.1 Type
Page 27 and 28: Figure 1: Summary of the City’s e
Page 29 and 30: Figure 3: Condition of Council free
Page 31 and 32: 15.3 Cleaning The City of Armadale
Page 33 and 34: Figure 8: Required toilet facilitie
Page 35 and 36: • The POS has a variety of existi
Page 37 and 38: 19 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE STRATEGY D
Page 39 and 40: Figure 10: Recommendations regardin
Page 41 and 42: APPENDIX 1 - DESIGN GUIDELINES The
Page 43 and 44: 7. SIGNAGE • Location of toilets
Page 45 and 46: Shire of Kalamunda 9 43 Karragullen
Page 47: ATTACHMENT 3: CRITERIA DETERMINING

Public Toilet Strategy 2013 - City of Armadale

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?