Ms. Wu, a citizen, told this newspaper that there was originally a public toilet in the bungalow of the artillery factory community in Shijingshan District, serving more than 300 residents in the surrounding area, but since the public toilet was demolished due to renovation a few years ago, the good reconstruction has not made substantial progress. Because most of the residents are elderly, the problem of toilet difficulties has become more and more prominent, some elderly people can't stand the internal emergency when they go to the middle of the road, and some elderly people can only use plastic bags to facilitate at home... "It has been dismantled for several years, when can it be rebuilt?" Residents continued to cry. Public toilets have not been rebuilt for a long time, where is the problem stuck? Is it expected to be resolved in a coordinated manner as soon as possible? Recently, reporters went to the scene to investigate.
origin
Public toilets have not been rebuilt for safe removal
The public toilet ms. Wu mentioned is located on the northwest side of row 7 in the second district of the artillery factory community. Before the demolition, residents of the surrounding bungalow area relied on it for their daily toilets.
"I'm in my 60s, and I've had this public toilet for as long as I can remember." A resident said that the public toilet was originally a dry toilet, but after partial transformation, the internal flushing device was installed, the hardware facilities have been upgraded, and more than a dozen pits can basically meet daily needs. In addition, sanitation workers clean up every day and regularly pump septic tanks.
Residents said that in 2016, this public toilet was demolished by the relevant departments, because there are often sewage leaking down from the slope next to it, the smell is unpleasant in summer, and the ice will freeze in winter, affecting the daily life of surrounding residents, and there are certain safety hazards. Residents expressed their understanding and support for this. The staff of the urban management committee of the territorial street and Shijingshan District also confirmed to reporters that due to the early construction time of the public toilet, there was septic tank leakage and foundation subsidence, so it was decided to demolish the public toilet and choose a site for reconstruction.
However, the reconstruction that was agreed at that time was not expected by the residents until now.
status quo
The surrounding public toilets are far from the elderly to go to the toilet
"Most of the people living in the bungalow area are elderly, and it is very inconvenient to go to the toilet." Ms. Wu told reporters that there is another public toilet on the south side of the bungalow area, adjacent to the Artillery Factory Primary School, which is the closest public toilet that everyone can go to at present. Although the straight-line distance is more than 200 meters, it needs to pass through several alleys, and in the middle, it is necessary to pass through the road where cars come and go, and then pass through a small square to reach it. Some elderly people have limited mobility, and this trip down takes almost ten minutes.
"I went to the bathroom, and I had to rest several times on the way." An old man who was walking on a small square said that her legs and feet were still sharp, but it was quite difficult to walk from the bungalow area to the public toilet, especially if she had to "walk the streets and alleys" while holding back, which was even more uncomfortable. "It takes at least 20 minutes for me to get here, and I have to cross the street with my heart and guts." Another resident on crutches said.
There is also a public toilet relatively close to the bungalow area, located next to the village of Long'en Temple. In the direction of the residents' fingers, the reporter measured it on the spot, and the straight-line distance was almost more than 200 meters. However, there is a gap of five or six meters on this road, which is not "friendly" to the elderly. Residents had to walk through a gap in a fence, then down the dirt slope along dozens of steps, down the downhill road and up a more stretch to reach the public toilets.
"Young people often go to this public toilet, we old people basically no one goes, walking is steep and dangerous, especially at night, the black lights are blind, and we dare not go." A resident said.
Hearing that reporters came to learn about public toilets, residents gathered around and told their stories. "When I got up early in the morning, I had to hold my little grandson and run to the toilet, and many times before I ran there, the child couldn't hold back, and I pulled my pants halfway down the road." I had to bring the child back to change my clothes. "When you encounter windy, rainy and snowy weather, you can't go out at all, you are afraid of falling, you can only solve it at home..."
Some elderly people told reporters that sometimes they encounter internal emergencies, and the public toilets are too far away, and they can only put a plastic bag on the garbage can at home to solve the problem of urinating and defecating. However, with the advancement of garbage sorting, watching the volunteers work hard in front of the bucket every day, the old people can't bear it, and they can't get over it on their faces, and they are unwilling to do it again. In this way, the "convenience" problem of these elderly people is even more inconvenient.
"My house has a toilet so that I can urinate at home occasionally, but I can't defecate at all." The sewer pipes laid in our bungalow area at that time were particularly thin and could easily clog. A resident said that even if the family has the conditions to install relevant facilities, the toilet is still very inconvenient, and everyone is looking forward to the public toilet to be rebuilt as soon as possible.
Probe for causes
The site selection plan is divergent and difficult to agree
Ms. Wu said that after the earlier demolition of the public toilets, the relevant departments had repeatedly solicited residents' opinions on the reconstruction, and also posted relevant public notices in prominent locations in the bungalow area, including site selection plans, planning and design drawings and other information. It is understood that the publicized plan is not to completely rebuild the original site, but to the side of the translation of a few meters on the basis of the original site.
The reporter learned from many sources that some residents had long ago planted vegetables in the open space next to the public toilet, so they objected to some of the land ownership of the site of the public toilet. Just as the parties involved were about to enter the construction site, the reconstruction of public toilets was temporarily shelved due to disputes.
"This vacant lot has long been neglected to grow vegetables, it has been idle, and people often dump garbage here unconsciously." Ms. Wu said that sometimes the amount of garbage is too much, and even piled up on the side road, she can only constantly reflect to the relevant departments. This phenomenon was also discovered on the day of the reporter's visit. There are more than a dozen bags of construction waste piled up in the open space, as well as various garbage such as dead branches and leaves, broken glass, foam boxes, and old pillow cores. "If public toilets could be built, it wouldn't be as chaotic as it is now." Ms. Wu said.
For the reconstruction of public toilets and the design of the plan, residents have appealed in many ways, but the construction has not progressed. "We are not making any excessive demands, obviously there are public toilets in the original, and everyone has actual needs, why don't we build them when they are demolished?" Some residents said. Some residents suggested that under the premise of preventing leakage, public toilets can be rebuilt at the original site. Some residents also suggested that even if there is a difference in the site selection plan, can we make some changes accordingly, eliminate the disputed part, and build a smaller public toilet. "Even if you build a temporary toilet first, you can temporarily solve everyone's urgent needs."
The staff of Wulituo Street said that at the coordination meeting before the demolition and transformation of the public toilet, all parties had made it clear that the property rights unit should be responsible for selecting the site to build a new public toilet, the district urban management committee provided financial support, the district sanitation center was specifically responsible for the construction and later management and maintenance, and the street was responsible for the demolition of the old public toilet and assisted in the relevant guarantee work. After the relocation was blocked, the street has also participated in coordination and communication many times, but at present, the property rights unit and the district urban management committee are jointly promoting this matter.
The staff of the Shijingshan District Urban Management Committee said that they were also anxious about the delay in rebuilding the public toilets, and are still coordinating and urging all parties to solve the matter. As for whether the site selection scheme of public toilets will be changed, and whether temporary public toilets can be temporarily established, they will continue to communicate with the street, the community and the property rights unit.
A person in charge of the property rights unit told reporters that although the property rights of public toilets in the open space in the planning plan belong to them, they have carried out socialized management at present, and the specific work should be responsible for the street. As for how to rebuild public toilets and how to select sites, it should also be coordinated by the street and district urban management committees. The person in charge said that once the relevant parties have coordinated, they will actively cooperate with the construction.
Journalist's Note
Please let the elderly go to the toilet with dignity
A public toilet was rebuilt, and the residents waited for nearly 5 years. Time passes day by day, and the age of the residents increases day by day. There are many elderly people living in the bungalow area, they all say that "people are old before the legs", they are old, they are no longer so sharp in action, the nearest public toilet even if the straight-line distance is only a few hundred meters, but for the elderly, it takes ten minutes to walk. Although there are two public toilets nearby, after following the elderly to experience a rather bumpy toilet road, this inconvenience made the reporter sigh even more. Speaking of their own coping "tricks", many elderly people are also very embarrassed, some say that the situation of being unable to hold back in the middle of the road often exists, and they can only find ways to solve it themselves; some say that temporarily using plastic bags at home can also save emergencies.
The reconstruction of public toilets is not only a matter of convenience or not, but also related to the dignity of the elderly. There are various reasons for the shelving of public toilet reconstruction, but it cannot be stopped because of differences. Perhaps the relevant departments can be more flexible in their handling, for example, can the site selection plan be reconsidered? Can we first add temporary toilets to solve the urgent need? The residents' proposals are not without merit. Considering the actual needs of so many elderly people, the most urgent thing at present is to further communicate and coordinate with all relevant parties, work together to "break the ice" and rebuild public toilets as soon as possible.