2023-08-12 04:05:00
If you went by car on holiday in France, you will no doubt have noticed that public toilets are installed on almost all the rest areas along the motorways. With us, this is not the case. How to explain this difference? Why are we forced in Belgium to hide behind a tree or between two cars?
We find Annie and Guy on the rest area of Verlaine (Neufchâteau). They decided to stop for a bite to eat on their vacation route. For the passage to the toilets, it will be further, because at this place, there are benches but no toilets. “It’s true that in the end, there aren’t many stops where there are toilets“, indicates our witness. Another lady confirms. “You have to roll, roll and roll, and then you can’t find it. There are really too few“.
On the Autoroute du Soleil, between Tellin and Habay, there are no toilets for nearly 65 kilometers. For motorists, it’s getting by.
In an area with no toilet, a German traveler does what he can to allow his young daughter to satisfy a pressing desire. “It is not easy. We are here with my daughter and we used this (a potty) as there is no toilet available“, he reacts to our microphone.
French travelers are also surprised. “We thought there was going to be a toilet area, but nothing at all. There are trees!“, he launches with humor. Another motorist shares his disappointment: “It’s a bit lacking. An infrastructure, toilets. We stopped just for that, and we don’t have any!“.
The response from the network manager
In Wallonia, only 51 of the 105 rest areas are equipped with toilets. A deficiency that the manager of the motorway network explains by practical reasons. “It is difficult to guarantee the cleanliness of sanitary facilities where there is no service station. It is for this reason that some areas are not equipped“, reacts the Sofico.
During the summer, 14 mobile cabins are installed in the rest areas where the lack of sanitary facilities is the most glaring. However, cleanliness is not always there… to the point of repelling several users: they will wait for another stop to relieve themselves.
christophe clement Clarisse Debatty
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#Travelers #relieve #nature #Walloon #rest #areas