CEDRIC BRYANT, of Watson, is grumpy about the state of public toilets in the suburbs. 

JON Stanhope’s column (CN, June 25) questioned where money had gone from the public purse. Certainly not to fix the woeful neglect of suburban public toilets. 

In the older suburbs toilets were built when the local shopping centres were developed. For example: Yarralumla, O’Connor, Lyneham and Downer. 

They are a public disgrace, beyond renovation and should be replaced to meet today’s basic health standards.

The toilet seats are old and there are almost no proper facilities for washing and drying hands. The cubicles are so small that anyone with even a minor disability, such as me with a hip and knee replacement, has a problem; let alone wheelchair access! 

In Downer the graffiti-covered toilets have been shut up for years, what an eyesore. Downer Square was given an upgrade earlier this year and that would have been the time to build a new toilet block to meet 21st century health standards. 

A new toilet block was recently built on the sports oval in Knox Street, Watson, several hundred metres from the shops. This is open only when sports events are taking place. 

Where has the money gone? Trams etcetera, certainly not in the suburbs where basic facilities are needed. I am sure Messrs Barr and Rattenbury would never use them.