The Socialist Party (PSC) in Badalona has called on the city council to implement an “urgent plan” to address a critical shortage of public toilets, revealing that four of the city’s five facilities are closed and have been vandalised.
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This leaves Badalona, Catalonia’s fourth-largest city, with just one functioning public toilet. However, that facility is reserved for the exclusive use of transport company employees, effectively leaving residents and visitors with no available public conveniences.
In a statement released on Monday, the PSC highlighted the stark situation. The only operational facility, located in the Can Ruti area near the Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, serves employees of the transport firm TUSGSAL, as first reported by Metrópoli Abierta.
The situation “leaves Badalona without public services of this type available to the citizenry,” the Socialists lamented. They described the service as “especially necessary” for vulnerable groups, including the elderly, families with young children, and individuals who spend long hours on the street for work or other reasons.
A Wider Debate on Public Services
The demand for basic amenities like toilets comes amid a wider, more urgent debate concerning the provision of public facilities in the city. Badalona’s social infrastructure has come under intense scrutiny, particularly its policies for people experiencing homelessness.
A series of deaths on Badalona’s streets earlier this year shook the city’s social fabric. As Barna.News reported, a fifth homeless person died in March, prompting widespread alarm and calls for action from across the political spectrum.
Opposition parties, along with the regional Government of Catalonia (Generalitat), have repeatedly urged the administration of Mayor Xavier García Albiol to reopen the Can Bofí Vell shelter, a key facility for the homeless that currently remains closed.
The Council’s Stance
Mayor Albiol’s government, however, has stated it is pursuing “another model” to support the city’s homeless population. This alternative strategy focuses on creating a new soup kitchen and providing temporary, limited accommodation in flats owned by social entities. According to the council, this plan is still in the dialogue and formalisation phase.
The Socialists’ Party of Catalonia’s call to address the public toilet deficit highlights a growing concern over the state of fundamental public services in Badalona. Critics argue it reflects a pattern of neglect in social infrastructure that disproportionately affects the city’s most vulnerable residents.
With the PSC demanding a formal “planification” to expand the network, the focus now shifts to the Ajuntament de Badalona to see whether it will prioritise the restoration and expansion of these essential public facilities.
