Dumbfounded by closure decision
I DID not vote for George Ferguson as Mayor. However, I do believe that both the office and the successful candidate should be given a good chance to succeed and I therefore wish him well.
To balance the books is not a mug's game, and savings of £35m inevitably cause dismay.
There is however one area on which one can have no doubt. Both citizens and visitors to Bristol, each and every one, always have been and always will be susceptible to the call of nature.
The first consideration on getting off coach or train, or having parked the car, must be "where's the loo?"
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I am therefore dumbfounded to read (The Post Jan 7) that not a few only, not even the majority, but all, yes all 79 of the city's public conveniences could be axed.
Make no mistake this is the one decision whish almost certainly cannot later be revoked.
Jobs and services in other spheres can later be reintroduced, but once you have pulled down the toilets (and I can't imagine them staying up unused – can you?) it would cost the earth – and endless planning rows – to rebuild just a fraction of that number.
And the savings? £600,000 compared to the £35m required, that's peanuts.
No one likes a rise in council tax but that's just 50p a month for 100,000 city council tax payers. I know which would be the greater 'inconvenience'.
Can you imagine going to visit any great city – in this country or abroad – getting off the coach and being told "We have no public toilets'?
You'd strike that city off your list straightaway and advise your friends to do the same.
The health implications are alarming. Older people will be dissuaded from stepping out for regular essential exercise or may suffer. Not exactly good practice or official advice.
I am a Bristolian born and bred, fiercely proud of my city. No way can I stand by and watch this happen. I want Bristol to be highly regarded and to receive the respect that it deserves.
Geoff Stock
Horfield.
Comments
by snowymalone
Sunday, January 20 2013, 10:10AM
“I agree with most of that, but there are a few public khazis for which there's a need, especially when remote from shops, cafes etc and if you have small kids in tow. Maybe just keep the ones in public parks open between dawn and dusk, as most vandalism, dealing and sundry other activities tend to be after hours?
Ok, having park wardens go round locking them all of an evening would cost, but it's cheaper than having to refurb the things every few weeks. Def agree that quite a few of them, especially high street ones are superfluous these days, though.”
by A_Mushroom
Friday, January 18 2013, 1:23PM
“I don't understand the furore and I really don't want to pay £6 a year just for the benefit of weak bladdered tourists.
Be realistic. You arrive at the bus or train station, there are toilets (not Council owned ones). You go for a drink or a meal in a cafe / restaurant, there are toilets. You go in a large store, there are toilets. You go to a museum, there are toilets.
It's a passer's piradise out there.”