Public Restroom Initiative

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Public Restroom Initiative

• Presentation to AUGS membership, October, 2002

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NIH consensus conference on urinary incontinence

• One of 6 general principles of treatment
• In particular, availability of adequate numbers
  of properly constructed public toilets is an
  important adjunct to incontinence management.
• JAGS 1990 38 286

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Restroom regulations

• In the workplace OSHA restroom standard
  Employers must make toilet facilities available
  so that employees can use them when they need to
  do so.
• ADA 1991
• Potty parity laws

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Restroom availability varies widely some
examples

• Atlanta GA 7-6pm Public restrooms at Key
  Station. Customer requests honored at remainder.
• Baltimore MD Have Restrooms
• Boston MA 830-430 Restrooms at heavy rail
  connectors
• Chicago IL No restrooms - No station manager
  policy

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Problems exist

• Using public transportation
• Sports fields and parks
• Bicycle paths
• Shopping
• Tourism
• In our schools

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Some attempts to help

• Maryland Law Senate Bill 413, signed into law
  1987 Each retail establishment with 20 or more
  employees that has a toilet facility for its
  employees shall allow use of the facility to any
  customer who suffers from Crohn's disease,
  ulcerative colitis or any other inflammatory
  bowel disease or another medical condition that
  requires immediate access to a toilet facility
  or utilizes an ostomy device.

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Some attempts to help

• Illinois Equitable Restrooms Act The General
  Assembly finds that an inequitable situation
  occurs due to delays which women face in the use
  of restroom facilities when men are rarely
  required to wait for the same purpose. Rectifying
  this inequitable situation is a matter of serious
  public concern.

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Illinois Equitable Restrooms Act

• Specifications. A place of public accommodation
  shall be equipped with the following facilities
  (1) At least one women's toilet stall for every
  200 persons in the maximum legal capacity of the
  place of public accommodation. (2) At least one
  men's toilet stall for every 700 persons in the
  maximum legal capacity of the place of public
  accommodation. (3) At least one men's urinal for
  every 250 persons in the maximum legal capacity
  of the place of public accommodation.

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Northern China, August, 2002

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Metroped, Inc.http//metroped.org

• Addressing public policy impediments to
  pedestrian fitness and transit
• An advocacy and informational organization for
  issues outside the scope of mainstream fitness
  and transportation.

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Metroped, Inc.

• In our growing metropolitan areas, people who
  walk, bike, and exercise face risk and obstacle.
    We are particularly concerned with public
  policy that, either by omission or intent, acts
  as an impediment to these activities. 

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San Jose street furniture

• Caused some problems in SF.
• Board of Supervisors debate remove to deter
  prostitution, drug dealing, or keep to provide
  bathroom access?

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Need creative solutions

• No modern commuter transit system would
  intentionally design a station to preclude use by
  someone in a wheel chair.  The same philosophy
  must be applied to the restroom challenged.    
  

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Aim of Public Restroom Initiative

• To strengthen and close the gaps in the existing
  Federal, State and Local toilet availability
  codes
• Initial aim create national Model Code
  addressing need for toilet availability.
• Final aim Adopt Model Code as a regulation by
  Congressional mandate or by a federal public
  health agency

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What should AUGS do?

• Raise public and legislative awareness?
• Co-sponsor a model code?
• Lobby for adoption of code as regulation?
• Conduct research into health effects of
  restrictive bathroom access?

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Proposal to membership

• Is AUGS interested at this time in this public
  health issue?
• If no, we can readdress later.
• If yes, consider development of a task force to
  develop a more concrete plan to present to
  Executive Committee for consideration.