Pet Peeves

Ok, we’ve all got them. Things or situations that just seem to get under out skin. For those of you who think you have no pets, think of the last time you were bitten by a mosquito. If the flying around doesn’t irritate you, once the proboscis has entered your body, and the little bugger vomits into your seven layers of skin, and then after sucking out Your blood, you develop a welt that quite frankly irritates the hell out of you. Scratch away! Mosquito habits are one of my pet peeves, but not the focus of this short blog.

Years ago, retail facilities provided washrooms as a courtesy, men and women shared a small closet sized area with a sink and a loo, one at a time of course. As time progressed, they gave us His and Hers, although the amount of elbow room didn’t change much. As development finances increased, so did the amount of space given to the room generally, usually with ‘stalls’ encasing each commode. Now here’s where the peeve comes into play.

When the designs called for ADA accessibility, the large commode stall had a door that hinged with an  opening to the greater aspect of the restroom. Obviously this was done so a wheel chair-ed individual could use the facility. However, on those smaller, designed-for-the-masses stalls, some moron utilized hinges that cause the door to open inwardly! Even if you are not a cripple, which stall do you head for? And that’s my point. Think it through for a moment.

All stall doors should open with a pull out into the restroom so there is quick ease of entry. It is no big deal to do this, no traffic jam in the restrooms! For anyone who has had to use public facilities when pushing the door into the space in front of a toilet that you need to step in and stand at, you understand the gymnastics. It’s like whomever designs public restrooms has never graced the insides themselves. A fluid example of moronic design.

I attended a college in Wisconsin, love that state. The small campus had a cluster of new brick buildings, each with well laid out cement walkways going hither and yon. After the first year of operation, there were “trails” through the grass! The students themselves developed the best sidewalk design for ‘their’ needs. Architecture be damned, erect the buildings, let the walkways develop naturally.

And that is what I believe should happen now with restroom design. Both for Men and Women, those stalls should be equipped with doors that open to the greater space of the room allowing for ease of ingress and egress. Tradition be damned. Pet peeves aside, having a positive restroom experience is essential in this day and age. When you think of the monies spent by companies like Google and Mac Donalds and such putting so much resources into ‘play’ or ‘chill’ areas, shouldn’t the stress of taking a restroom break be paramount?  That’s my song, and I’m sticking to it.   #Restroom Pet Peevers Unite!