The most recently promised date for toilets to cater for an increasing number of visitors at the world's steepest street has come and gone, and there is now no guarantee they will be in place for the cruise ship season.
The Dunedin City Council says the issue is complex, with no site ''a perfect solution''.
Public toilets were promised earlier this month for Baldwin St in Northeast Valley by council city property manager Kevin Taylor.
He said temporary toilets would be in place by Labour Weekend.
But the weekend came and went, and Enterprise Dunedin business development adviser Michael Harrison said yesterday the council was no closer to deciding where they might go.
A lack of toilets at the popular tourist spot has been a long-standing issue in the Northeast Valley area as tourists turn up in bus loads.
Last year, Otago Community Hospice chief executive Ginny Green said sightseers had entered the facility looking for toilets, and local business Grid Coffee in North Rd has had to deal with up to 15 people waiting in line in the small business to use the customer-only toilet.
Mr Harrison said the next step would be a community meeting to discuss the issue ''as soon as possible'' next month.
Asked why the toilets had not gone in by Labour Weekend, Mr Harrison said: ''We haven't had the communication with the residents around the location.''
There had been discussion between the Otago Regional Council and the DCC for a land swap to free up a site in front of the former Palmers Quarry Garden on North Rd, but while it ''hasn't been closed out, nothing here is as easy as it might look''.
Mr Harrison said finding a suitable site was the issue.
Every possible site was on someone else's land, or beside somebody else.
''There is no perfect solution.''
It was still the plan to get the toilets in before the tourism season got busy, but he could not give an absolute assurance.
