Oct 22, 2023 1 min read

Public Toilets Upgrades Proposed Across Banyule

Universally needed, why do we have to fight for access?

Public toilets can be simple, modest & conveniently located as this example at Maling Road shops

A Draft Public Toilet plan is on Shaping Banyule and the feedback survey closes next Thursday 26th October.

https://shaping.banyule.vic.gov.au/publictoilets

Public Toilet Plan

Your Council is asking you what you think about the draft Public Toilet Plan.

shaping.banyule.vic.gov.au

Paper copies of the survey are available from the Council Service desks, including at the Ivanhoe Library and Cultural Hub.

Things of note:

• while there were 11 requests made to Council for public toilets to be provided in Eaglemont, the only action proposed for Eaglemont is to advocate to the State Government for access to (the presently locked to commuters) toilets at the station.

This seems an obvious solution to us locals, but so far multiple approaches to & discussions with the rail authorities have got nowhere.

We've no reason to think this is likely to change (and likewise Council advocating to the State Government re Odenwald Bridge isn't getting anywhere either).

Perhaps there should be an additional clause in the Banyule position that, if this is not achieved in the next 12 months, Banyule should include the provision of a stand-alone toilet in the Capital Works program and defer one of the other proposed ones (see next point).

There were only 4 community requests for Ivanhoe East toilets, 1 for Sparks Reserve and 2 for Burke Road North Reserve, yet each of those locations is proposed for a new toilet.

This whole matter of public toilets is a vexxed issue State-wide.

There is no legislated obligation on any tier of government to provide public toilets.

So basic that commonsense has has served the community reasonably well for centuries.

Local government is all over the provision of toilets by others - in homes, offices, hospitality, sports, entertainment - until the time comes for local government to use public funds to provide public toilets for the public.

And the gall of the State Government to allow their contractor Metro Trains Melbourne to run a public transport network that denies toilets to the paying, travelling public!

[Thanks to Pippa for providing the bulk of this article]