News

What we heard from our community

1 August 2024

A big thank you to everyone who took the time to share feedback on public toilets in Merri-bek. Your thoughtful comments have helped us understand what matters to our community when using public toilets.

We had 3 main objectives for this engagement:

Who we heard from

  • 300 people placed pins our interactive map
  • There were 420 pins placed on the map
  • 7 of the comments were made in languages other than English: Turkish, Arabic and Greek
  • We heard from people all over Merri-bek.


A pie chart showing all the suburbs people dropped pins. The biggest chunk is for Coburg, followed by Fawkner and Coburg North.

This graph shows the distribution of comments by location. 59% of the sites commented on were in Fawkner, Coburg North or Coburg.

What we heard

We asked people what they personally look for when using a public toilet. The graph below shows the facilities we asked about and what percentage of people said they were needed.

A column graph with increments of 10% on the vertical axis and public toilet facilities on the horizontal axis.

The graph shows there is a clear need for facilities with a nappy change table and access for someone pushing a pram. Needing sanitary disposal was also a high need.

It was also clear from survey responses that people value toilets that are:

Read the engagement report for more detail about what we heard open in new window

What we did

The feedback we received has informed the principles that will guide our provision, design and operation of public toilets. We have finalised the principles document that will guide planning, design, maintenance and operation of public toilets and information provided about them.

We have also prepared a list of actions that we will take at specific locations. While there are several ‘quick wins’ we can implement in response to the feedback received, the remaining sites will be considered in the compilation of future capital works programs.

  1. New toilet in Moomba Park near the playground and dog park, near the Merri Creek Trail – to be delivered as part of the social rooms upgrade in 2024/25
  2. At De Chene Reserve, consider including a publicly available toilet in the refurbishment of the pavilion in 2024/25.
  3. At Rayner Reserve, a new toilet is to be constructed in 2024/25 at the same time as pavilion works.
  4. Construction of a new public toilet in the Snell Grove shopping precinct in 2024/25.
  5. At Holbrook Reserve, consider including a publicly available toilet in the refurbishment of the pavilion in 2025/26.
  6. Toilets are being refurbished at Temple Park in 2024.
  7. Toilets are being upgraded at Bonwick Street shops in 2024 (construction underway).
  8. The Shore Reserve north fully automatic toilet is being replaced with a semi-automatic toilet in 2024 (under construction).
  1. When the Cox Reserve Park Upgrade occurs (consultation 2024/25, construction 2025/26), consider whether it is possible to increase the funding allocation to also include a public toilet, likely at the northern end of the Reserve.
  2. Undertake analysis of the usage of Gilmour Park in Coburg to determine whether this neighbourhood park should be considered for a new public toilet, and if so, include in the future capital program.
  3. At Charles Mutton Reserve, consider measures that could be taken to reduce the occurrence of vandalism so that the toilets could be opened up during daylight hours.
  4. Review the Dunstan Reserve toilets to determine whether they are meeting user requirements and if not, refer them for considering in the updated capital program.
  5. Consider whether there are measures available to reduce the prevalence of people relieving themselves in the Brunswick Town Hall portico area outside of library opening hours.
  6. Review signage from the Sydney Road bridal precinct to the Sparta Place toilets in Tripovich Street, and also install signage further south along Sydney Road to the new Frith Street park with indication of the availability of a toilet.
  7. Review signage from Sydney Road near Albion Street to toilets at Garrong Park, Warr Park and Bulleke-bek Park, to see whether additional signage is needed, especially from the area between Donald and Tinning Streets.
  8. Review whether a new sign is needed near Gillon Oval towards the toilet at the Victoria Street entrance to Brunswick Park.
  9. At CB Smith Reserve, give consideration to be given to installing a bin at the toilet outside the library and whether measures could be taken to allow the pavilion toilets to be reopened.
  10. At the Russell Street car park in Coburg, a review will be undertaken of the factors leading to the toilet being closed during expected times.
  11. Signage to the JP Fawkner Reserve new facility from Merri Creek Trail and within the reserve will be implemented within 2024/25.
  12. Signage from within the West Street shopping area to the Middle Street toilet will be implemented within 2024/25.
  13. Investigate whether there are issues with the automatic locking at the Wylie Reserve toilet given reports of it often not being open.
  1. A new toilet in the vicinity of the Fran Street park, along the Moonee Ponds Creek
  2. A new toilet in the vicinity of the Merri Creek Trail in the Coburg North area, possibly in Jackson Reserve
  3. A new toilet in Denzil Don Reserve
  4. A new toilet in Sanger Reserve
  5. An upgraded, expanded facility for Harmony Park.
  6. An alternative location for the facility at Belair Ave, Glenroy when refurbishment is due.
  7. An alternative location for the facility at Glenroy Rd / Morgan Ct, Glenroy when refurbishment is due.