conviviality in Place Saint-Pierre spoiled by the smell of urine
It doesn’t smell of roses on the St. Peter’s Square in Toulouse. Bordering the Garonne, the esplanade has one of the most beautiful views of the city. Moreover, it is an emblematic place of Toulouse nightlife. The only downside: his reputation is hampered by… a nauseating smell of urine. A scent that tickles the nostrils of local residents, passers-by and traders settled around the square. To put it plainly: instead of being a sight to behold, Place Saint-Pierre is… a lot of fun!
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A clogged urinal
But where does this unpleasant smell come from? It would come from a urinal vespasienne largely fed by the revelers of the place after a few meters of pastis Chez Tonton and other mythical bars of the place. The problem is that this famous urinal is completely clogged, giving rise to incivility on the public highway… Obstructed, these public toilets do not allow the proper evacuation of urine, which overflows and spills up to the bike path and adjacent road. And it’s not a cakewalk for passers-by, nor for shopkeepers whose mustard, or rather urine, gets in their noses.
Traders bothered by the smell of urine
Sandy Denis, manager of the “Moustache” ice cream parlor, is one of the traders most affected by this scourge. “Because of our proximity to this urinal, we are regularly bothered by the smell. During the day, again, it’s fine. But in the evening, with the presence of bars nearby, people drink, urinate and the smell is horrible!”, testifies the glacier contacted by The Independent Opinion. He adds: “It’s been going on for about two years. From one o’clock in the morning, with the crowds, the urinal overflows onto the road and you can’t even walk around it”.
Same echo from his neighbor Eliot, from the La Pokéteria team. This is the closest business to this famous urinal. He confides: “there are often large puddles of urine which overflow from the urinal to the road. With the passage of cars, the tires spread urine all around the place”. A major problem for the restaurateur, who says that the smell “puts off customers who want to eat on the terrace, and it’s even worse with the heat!”.
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Soon a bad memory?
No longer supporting this situation, Eliot indicates that he “called the town hall several times, but no one ever came”. For its part, the municipality, contacted by The Independent Opinion, claims to have become aware of a report last Monday. She ensures that a solution has been found to solve the problem: “a plumbing service must intervene as quickly as possible”, she communicated.
According to the town hall, this urinal “is not defective, but ends up clogged, because people throw their waste in an inattentive way”. In any case, traders and passers-by should soon be able to enjoy St. Peter’s Square again.