A public toilet in the Kwun Tong Promenade, where a new HK$50 million music fountain opened in April, should be upgraded immediately, according to an annual public toilet rating.
The Hong Kong Toilet Association inspected over 400 public toilets across the city, and on Wednesday announced the best and the “most urgent for an improvement” public toilets ahead of World Toilet Day on Friday.
Public toilets in Kwun Tong promenade, Cox's Road in Jordan, and Yuen Long MTR station are deemed to be in urgent need for improvement as they were found to have slippery floors and dirty toilet bowls as there are no cleaners on duty.
Dorothy Kung, treasurer of the Hong Kong Toilet Association, said the Kwun Tong toilet was resplendent when it was first established.
However, its flushing system is in disrepair and the cubicles were covered with bullet holes-like marks.
Based on factors such as hygiene and accessibility, the association awarded the public toilet in Smithfield Municipal Services Building at Kennedy Town with this year’s golden award.
Even with its high usage rate, the association said "the facility is neat and tidy, decorated with green plants, which makes its users feel extremely comfortable.”
The association praised toilet staffers at Smithfield Municipal Services Building for being diligent and having initiative, as well as having good English communication skills.
The silver award goes to the public toilet at Yen Chow Street in Sham Shui Po, which was renovated last year and maintains its cleanliness despite being situated in an area with high pedestrian flow.
The bronze award goes to the public toilet in Gascoigne Road at Jordan for being fresh and clean.
However, the association's founding chairman Henry Hung Chi-kuen urged the government to add urinal partitions in public toilets to avoid men from feeling awkward when urinating.
He added that public toilets in Hong Kong should be not be managed by three government departments that hold different standards to public toilets.
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department manages over 800 public toilets, 240 of them will undergo refurbishment or face-lifting work in phases from 2019-20 to 2023-24.
Under the enhanced public toilet refurbishment program, 91 public toilets have already been commenced or completed in the first two years.
The department will also launch a smart toilet pilot program and install devices at 10 public toilets from the third quarter of this year to collect data such as toilet usage to improve their service quality and management.
