FALMOUTH, Trelawny – The Trelawny Municipal Corporation (TMC) plans to take punitive action against individuals who continue to urinate in public places, especially on roadways in the historic town of Falmouth.

Speaking to reporters in Falmouth earlier this week, Mayor of Falmouth and chairman of the TMC, Colin Gager, said the municipal police will continue to ticket individuals for the infraction, but stressed that more stringent actions will be taken after the opening of a newly renovated public sanitary convenience in the town.

The rehabilitation work to the run-down facility is being funded by the Tourism Product (TPDCo) at a cost of $15 million.

“Our municipality police will be on the lookout because once this [public bathroom facility] is finished, we wouldn’t want people urinating on the road again. So our municipal police will enforce that part of it. Strict enforcement will be in place in the town of Falmouth,” underscored Gager.

“We have the power to serve tickets and in fact we have served a few for peeing on the streets.”

Gager noted that upon completion of the sanitary convenience, signs leading to the facility will be conspicuously posted around the town.

“We already have a few signs and we are building some new signs that will point you to the direction of the urinals and the bathroom facilities. We will also be educating the people, we will be sending out flyers to the various stores so that they too will help in directing their customers to the facility because some of these stores are not fitted with bathroom facilities. So, we will be asking that each store display that notice that will tell you about the new bathroom facility,” Gager said.

He added that in an effort to limit “the instances of touching” during the current COVID-19 pandemic, the bathroom fittings will be mostly operated by sensors.

“Because of the COVID that is around we are now trying to make sure that it is fitted with sensors so one doesn’t have to touch or that sort of thing. So the pipe tops will be different, the flushing of the bathroom will be different, the urinals will be different…it will be automatically flushed after it is used,” Gager said.

He pointed out that in an effort to prevent vandalism at the facility, designated workers will monitor its operations.

“We will make sure that an individual is there to see to it that no littering, no damaging of the place is done. The facility will be maintained as best as possible,” he stressed.