Translate

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Carfree Citizens: Hard Pressed To Find Restrooms

If you are car-free citizen in Memphis, Tennessee, there is one thing that most of you have found out the hard way.

And here it is: public restrooms are to few and far between, and finding a private restroom is not getting any easier these days.

What you might find instead are signs hanging over a restroom entrance that say, "Customers Only, Employees Only, Out of Order, or Closed For Cleaning".

In some government buildings, one might find some security officers who will escort you out of the door if you attempt to search for a restroom on your own and without asking them at the check point first; and even then, there is no guarantee you will get to relieve yourself in a timely fashion.

These check point lines might be longer than you expected and even after you go through them and run-walk to the restroom, you might find one of those signs that say the rest room is out of order or it is being cleaned by a member of the opposite sex who is not about to leave until their job is done.

This sends a clear message not to go to such places just to relive yourself.

Make sure you have official business inside of government buildings and that you show up early.

The main excuse for all these signs, however, is the plight of homelessness and the up-serge of would-be criminals from which one or both groups together take over restroom faculties and attract more of the same type of people.

Nonetheless, public restroom designs are on the market that can reduce or eliminate the bad behaviors of vagrants, retailers, and government officials alike.

 To illustrate, new restroom designs are planned for  New York, New York that allow police offers to see through the restroom walls.

Silhouettes show up clearly enough that undesirable behaviors will not go unnoticed.








Here is an example, of clear glass walls, but the bathroom stalls are enclosed and the doors are solid wood.












Here is an example, of a smart glass system that can be set to various levels so that security officers can view only the silhouette movements clearly.














Sample of restroom doors with smart glass.