Political pressure for improved facilities Two million euros for public restrooms
BONN · Politicians are calling on the city administration to revise the concept for public toilets by the beginning of next year. It wants to know which renovations and new facilities are most urgent and what it will cost.
Politicians are pressing ahead with the issue of public toilets. They are asking the city administration to come up with a clear listing of which renovations and new facilities are most urgent and what they will cost. A first concept has been available since May but this revised list is wanted by the end of the quarter. City building management says it is necessary to renovate an existing public restroom in Ramersdorf and there is a need to build new facilities at the Hofgarten and the Museum Mile.
The costs for renovating the restrooms at the underground stop at Ramersdorf would come to 462,000 euros, while two toilets and two urinals at the bus station at Hofgarten would amount to 328,000 euros. The latter would be placed where the glass containers currently stand. Restroom facilities at the long distance bus service stop on Museum Mile would come at a cost of 328,000 euros.
Public restrooms lacking or in bad condition
The administration proposed to put in two million euros for the 2019/2020 budget for upgrades and new construction. This was approved in the most recent meeting of the central committee. But there were also other areas mentioned where residents see a need for new restroom or renovations, among them the Alte Zoll, the Bad Godesberg train station and the Beuel train station.
Citizens had complained about the state of the restrooms via the participation platform "Bonn packt's an". Some were documented with pictures, showing that some facilities had either been dismantled or were in poor condition. Examples: Restrooms in the city administration building are closed and have been used as storage space for years. The restroom at the staircase of the Uni/Markt train station is considered to be a nightmare. Toilets on the Brassertufer were out of order at the time of the visit.
Still comparatively new are the facilities erected a few years ago at Bertha-von-Suttner-Platz and Moltkeplatz in Bad Godesberg, which cost 200,000 euros each. One has to pay a 50 cent fee, which brings in around 3000 euros a year. The administration has been instructed by the politicians to build a new kiosk toilet on Remigiusplatz, the old one has been out of operation there for years. The costs amount to 325,000 euros, which a citizen group had criticized as too expensive.
(Orig. text: Philipp Königs / Translation: Carl Klöppel)
