CHAPTER XXIII. PUBLIC CONVENIENCES.

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In almost every town in the United Kingdom public urinals are now erected, although it is not often that good watercloset accommodation is provided, except at hotels and railway stations, over which the local authority have no jurisdiction; or perhaps if they do provide any accommodation of this description it is only in connection with the public parks or in the markets, museums, &c.

The clause of the Public Health Act which empowers an urban authority to spend money out of the district rates for this purpose is as follows:

“Any urban authority may if they think fit provide and maintain in proper and convenient situations, urinals, waterclosets, earthclosets, privies and ashpits and other similar conveniences for public accommodation” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 39).

It is not my intention to enter into the merits or otherwise of the many descriptions of urinals and latrines that have been brought to the notice from time to time of every town surveyor by enterprising manufacturers and patentees, but only to give a few suggestions upon the subject.

Public urinals ought to be erected by the urban authority as a matter of convenience to the peripatetic portion of any community, and also to prevent nuisances being committed in improper places.

In selecting sites for urinals the town surveyor must take care that after erection they shall not be offensive or a nuisance to any persons living in the vicinity, and that they shall be so placed that although they may be easily found, the persons using them shall be effectually screened.[196]

Urinals are better constructed of iron rather than of brickwork or more solid workmanship, in order that they can be readily removed. It is surprising what an uproar is sometimes raised in a neighbourhood by the erection of a urinal; this clamour occasionally has so much effect upon the urban authority that they order the removal of the urinal, although it may not have been erected many days, and if it has been substantially built a considerable waste of the public money is thus involved.

Where a urinal is constructed with basins, as by the following plan, the basins may be of iron or good stone ware or similar construction, these being always kept full of water which is constantly although slowly changing.

Urinal

Stall urinals may be some modification of the following plan, and be constructed of iron with slate partitions, or the partitions may be of iron covered with plate glass where soiled, the stalls should not be less than 24 in. in the clear, and water must be kept constantly flowing over the soiled portion either from a perforated pipe or a spreader.[197] A very excellent arrangement is to have a trench or trough cut at the foot of the stall for the whole length of the urinal, which is kept constantly full of water and occasionally flushed, thus avoiding nuisance in a very satisfactory manner.

Urinal

Provision must of course be made to efficiently drain and light all public urinals, and arrangements should be made by which they can be thoroughly washed once or twice a day, so as to keep every part scrupulously clean. Urine after a very short exposure exhales a most foetid and unpleasant odour, from the decomposition of its nitrogenous matter. Carbolic acid, chloride of lime, sanitas, or other disinfectant should also be used, especially in warm weather.

If the interior of a public urinal or latrine has to be painted a light colour, it is well to mix a little sand with the paint, so as to prevent as much as possible that literature and art which so often disfigures establishments of this description. An excellent composition with which to treat urinals, although it is of a somewhat dark tint, is a mixture of common coal tar and naphtha, which not only gives a clean and polished appearance to the place, but is also an excellent deodorant and disinfectant.

With regard to public W.C. accommodation, this, as I have before stated, is not very often provided by an urban authority,[198] although common public latrines are sometimes erected. These are generally used by rather rough persons, and should be constructed in a strong and simple manner.

For this purpose stoneware bowls or basins placed over a drain and fitting into ordinary right-angled junctions placed vertically are simple and effective as well as very economical in construction. Slate, iron, or wood seats may be placed on these basins, which should be kept half full of water. A periodical and sudden flush which carries the whole contents into the nearest sewer can be arranged for so as to work automatically by the introduction of a cistern and one of Mr. Roger Field’s flush syphons at the upper end of the system.

For further information on the subject of urinals, waterclosets, latrines, and all similar subjects, let the town surveyor refer to Mr. George Jennings or Messrs. Macfarlane, who have an endless variety of designs and appliances in connection with such matters.


[196] The urban authority have an absolute discretion as to the sites they select. They cannot, however, erect public conveniences so as thereby to cause a nuisance, even though the convenience is wanted and the locality chosen suitable. (Vide ‘Public Health and Local Government Act,’ by F. V. Fitzgerald, 3rd edition, p. 33.)[197] The quantity of water usually required to each stall when kept constantly running is about half a gallon per minute.[198] For an excellent specimen of such public accommodation, that at Liverpool near the St. George’s Hall should be inspected.


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

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