This step demonstrates flexibility in leveraging social resources to quickly address the shortage of public toilets – a key bottleneck in a civilized city.
However, the question is how to ensure this model is not just a short-term trend? And more importantly, what does Hanoi need to do to create a comprehensive, modern public restroom system that will serve residents and tourists in the long term?
Previously, the city had also encouraged hotels, restaurants, cafes, etc., to open their restrooms for public use, but the movement only lasted for a short time before subsiding. In 2016-2017, Hanoi planned to build 1,000 public restrooms using socialized capital, but this goal was not realized due to various reasons such as a lack of planning and accompanying technical infrastructure. Notably, many facilities that have been put into operation are now dilapidated or even closed, while the city still faces a severe shortage of public restrooms.
Opening public restrooms is a commendable act, but it also brings with it concerns, from a sudden surge in users putting pressure on facilities or incurring additional costs, to poor user behavior potentially leading to damage and safety hazards. Therefore, relying solely on voluntary participation can discourage many organizations due to the burden of maintenance costs.
Therefore, for this model to be sustainable, specific incentive mechanisms are needed, including support for maintenance costs, tax or service fee reductions for participating entities; encouragement for restaurants, cafes, and shopping malls to offer free restrooms, and support for promotion on tourism applications. In addition, the city should issue a set of operating standards and specific guidelines to ensure hygiene, safety, and convenience.
Above all, the "eco-friendly toilet" model is only a supporting solution and cannot completely replace the dedicated public toilet network. Therefore, Hanoi needs a comprehensive strategy for establishing this network. First and foremost, there needs to be synchronized planning, with the density and location of toilets carefully calculated based on pedestrian traffic, area characteristics, and transportation connections. The Old Quarter, parks, tourist attractions, bus stations, markets, etc., should be priority locations.
The city could learn from the experiences of developed urban areas, such as allowing businesses to exploit advertising or small services in restrooms to offset operating costs, while also holding them accountable for maintenance. Instead of simply handing over land to businesses for construction, the city could sign long-term management contracts, requiring regular reports.
As the political , economic, and cultural center of the country, Hanoi needs to set specific goals for the next five years, establishing a network of modern public toilets covering all crowded areas; applying technology to deploy automated, water-saving, energy-efficient, monitored, and interconnected sanitation systems.
Public restrooms are not just auxiliary facilities. They are a measure of urban civilization, a reflection of a friendly and livable city.
Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/thuoc-do-cua-do-thi-van-minh-712264.html
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