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Thang in a spin about loo turnstile Fairfield Councillor Thang Ngo is on a mission to have "dangerous" turnstiles removed from the Cabramatta public toilets. The council installed 50-cent entry push-button turnstiles in 1999 to record the number of users for cleaning and maintenance purposes and to discourage anti-social behaviour. The payment and need for the entry button ceased in 2004 but the turnstiles remain. Cr Ngo said: "Staff have told me that council had to remove a couple of spokes from the turnstiles because they were causing injury to users. "Blind Freddy can see there are access problems. "You only need to try and navigate the heavy turnstiles once to know they're a public hazard. "The turnstiles might have been necessary when we were charging residents to use the toilets but they are a complete waste of space now." Cr Ngo said it was highly unlikely that people intent on anti-social behaviour would be deterred by a toilet turnstile. "The justification by council simply does not stack up, especially considering the turnstiles were cause daily problems for residents," he said. "The longer we leave these unsightly, unwelcoming turnstiles the more it looks like council is leaving its option open to start charging again." Mayor Nick Lalich said council staff have never recorded a complaint or injury from users, that the council had not removed any section of the turnstiles. "We will continue to monitor the toilets and make any adjustments to their operation as the need arises," he said. |