While the above-ground entrance to Wagga’s underground toilets was demolished, its structure remains, according to a former councillor.
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A suggestion to resurrect the old public toilets on Forsyth Street was flushed out amid a debate regarding the need for after-hours access to amenities on the city’s main street.
It comes after business owners and professionals revealed a number of residents were using alleyways and shadowy nooks to relieve themselves.
Recurring incidents of public urination and sometimes defecation stirred debate across the city and resulted in a call for ablution solutions to combat the filthy habits of some.
But the issue has affected residents for years, with RE/MAX manager Dave Skow in 2012 revealing he was “fed up” with drunks urinating at the back of the Forsyth Street premises.
However, Mr Jerrick said the answer could lie in the bowls of the city.
Former Wagga City Council member Greg Jerrick said he had spoken to men who were present when the Forsyth Street toilet block was “filled in”.
If emptied, Mr Jerrick said the toilets could potentially be resurrected to combat the late-night issues raised in recent weeks.
“(Workers) said the above-ground entrance and brickwork was removed,” Ms Jerrick said. “(But) the below ground structure was only filled with sand.”
The former councillor said it was possible, the public toilets could be used.
“That would help a bit with these after-hours problems,” Mr Jerrick said. “But that still leaves the need for toilets in station place … that is where the greatest need is.”
Wagga history expert Pat Byrnes echoed Mr Jerrick’s recollections.
He said the brickwork-walls were simply collapsed, with dirt pushed on top of the hole that remained.
“Technically they are still there waiting for a archaeologist to unearth them in a distant century,” Mr Byrnes said. “Council (in 1973) decided not to replace it.”
Mr Byrnes – author of Remember the 1950’s, 60s and 70s in Wagga Wagga – said the toilet block, standing outside the Union Club Hotel was deemed a traffic hazard and not used regularly enough to justify the upkeep.
A Daily Advertiser Facebook post, calling on residents’ recollections of the facility, flushed out mixed reactions, with some comments backing the re-build the underground structure.
Pete Devereux said:
“We need to get them back. We can’t have people (urinating) and what-not in back allies and the like. It’s not fair to call these people out, if there is no where to go.”
Wayne McNamara through social media said he had used the bathroom as a last resort and Paul Kilfoyle said they had reeked of urine and vomit.