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CCID extends Cape Town toilet project in partnership with the City of Cape Town

by Sharon Sorour-Morris
Home Affairs public Toilet

Intent on increasing the amount of clean, safe and accessible public toilets in Cape Town’s busy CBD, the Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID) has ramped up the inner-city ablution project it launched two years ago.

Over 450 000 people have made use of the public ablution facilities since they were installed in the Cape Town CBD two years ago by the Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID).

Now, as the project enters its third year, the CCID has ramped up the facilities so that they meet the needs of the huge number of people – tourists, visitors, workers, residents, and homeless individuals – who visit the CBD day and night.

The project is a joint venture between the CCID, which launched it in May 2022, the City of Cape Town, which came on board in 2023, and Cape Town NGO Streetscapes.

Says CCID CEO Tasso Evangelinos: “Thanks to ongoing funding from the City of Cape Town, we are pleased to announce that the project will be extended until the end of June 2025.”

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Adderley Street public toilet
The public ablution facilities on the corner of Adderley & Darling Sts.

LACK OF TOILETS

Evangelinos says the lack of sufficient public toilets in the Central City prompted the CCID to launch the project. “There is a scarcity of public ablution facilities in town. The long-standing public toilets, like the ones on Greenmarket Square, are also only open during normal working hours. We wanted not only to address the shortage but also to provide toilets that are safe and clean – and open at night as well as during the day.”

Since inception, from May 2022 to June 2024, 457 578 people have used the toilets, indicating the need for safe, clean, free public facilities in town. Of these, 124 853 are homeless individuals.

In the last year alone, from July 2023 to June 2024, a total of 344 181 people have made use of the facilities.

City of Cape Town Ward 115 councillor Ian McMahon praised the ongoing success of the initiative, saying that it was obvious from the sheer number of users that they were meeting a need.

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Urinal - Artscape
Two four-unit urinals have now been added to the project. This one is on the corner of Hans Strijdom & D.F. Malan Sts. 

WORK OPPORTUNITIES

Kally Benito, manager of CCID Urban Management, says the project continues to provide work for the people who manage and clean the toilets via Streetscapes.
“We continue to collaborate with our NGO partner, Streetscapes, which provides trained workers who earn a stipend to clean and sanitise the units after each use,” she says.

She emphasized that the toilets also provide dignified ablution options in town for people who do not have access to public toilets in restaurants and eateries.

Jesse Laitinen, Streetscapes director, says the work offered by the project provides participants with “a sense of purpose and structure”. “The work offers a daily routine, which can be crucial in breaking cycles of instability and addiction that often accompany long-term homelessness.”

She says the project has not only increased the workers’ sense of self-worth and pride, but it has also helped them regain confidence in their abilities and their place within society – as well as pay rent – thereby contributing to long-term stability.

Streetscapes skills development and operations manager Andrew Tulloch says: "We employ 18 staff members which oversee five toilet sites. Each site has their own team, and some participants have been promoted to supervisors, enabling them to learn valuable leadership skills. This initiative has not only given us an opportunity to employ clients who can handle this responsibility but has provided them with a platform to learn valuable life skills. I would like to thank the CCID and the City for supporting this wonderful initiative."

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Home affairs public toilet
The mobile units in Barrack Street.

LOCATION

At present there are five mobile toilets and two four-cubicle urinals. The locations are:

  • Cnr Adderley & Darling Sts (two mobile toilets)
  • Barrack St (two mobile toilets)
  • Longmarket St (one urinal and one toilet)
  • Civic Centre (Hertzog Blvd) (one urinal)

The six public toilets on Greenmarket Square also form part of the project. The toilets (with the exception of GMS) are open seven days a week, Monday to Sunday, from 07h00 to 23h00, with the exception of the Barrack St toilets which are open from Monday to Friday from 07h00 to 17h00. The urinal on Hertzog Boulevard is manned from Monday to Friday from 07h00 to 17h00.

IMAGES: CCID