Future promises privacy for men in nation's public loos

WELLINGTON - Traditionalists mourning the erosion of society's familiar icons can prepare for another loss - group urinals in public toilets.

A national standard being drawn up for public toilets may signal the beginning of the end for the group urinal, according to Wellington architect Graham Allardice.

The old system of group urinals in men's toilets - based on the military latrines of last century - is "disgusting and unsafe," Mr Allardice said.

Such urinals are widely used in schools, hotels, cinemas and many other gathering places.

But future public toilets are likely to site individual urinals in the same space as a conventional toilet pan, if a urinal is provided at all, Mr Allardice said yesterday.

The toilets would be in self-contained rooms with hand basins and mirrors, to give privacy, he said in Standards, the official magazine of Standards New Zealand.

Mr Allardice, a member of the organisation's committee drafting new standards for public toilets, has supervised the upgrade of Wellington City Council's conveniences.

He said the top priority for designing the new-look public toilets was safety.

Another committee member, Chief Inspector David Smith of the police, told the magazine a significant number of crimes, including robbery, murder and rape, were committed in public toilets.

In old-style loos, users were vulnerable to threats or "unwelcome approaches," Mr Smith said.

But the proposed new designs would mean toilet users would be able to carry out all their activities in private.

Mr Allardice said the new-style unisex toilets - self-contained rooms with easy access - were safer and easier to use.

One other traditional piece of decor about to bite the dust is the ceramic tiling commonly used to line public toilets.

Mr Allardice said the joints between the tiles became contaminated and impossible to clean thoroughly. - NZPA