I would rather have made this as a comment to Jillian Page's Patent Pending, but there didn't seem to be any opportunity on her site.
In her post she very clearly spells out the issues in a balanced fashion. In Ontario, especially in the larger centers it is becoming more common to have a single occupancy washroom labeled 'disabled' or sometimes 'family'. In either case they are larger, and afford privacy, and security. It is starting to become more common in business settings where two washrooms are single use and used to be labeled male and female to see the signs coming down. Two single washrooms then become available for people (what a concept!).
If you are visiting Toronto, I would recommend (for wonderful food as well) Le Papillon on Front, a downtown eatery specializing in Quebecois fare. The atmosphere is inviting, and the very pleasant surprise, a row of unisex washrooms. There are no common male/female washrooms to be seen. A very civilized dining experience all round.
Apologies to other restaurants that have picked up on the same clearly superior (albeit expensive) solution.
Perhaps a listing by city of businesses that offer single use unisex washrooms should be created.
The idea of a single use washroom is a good one. However there still remain some other considerations, most involving SPACE. In a larger public setting, say and existing theatre or audutorium, when the performance is over, large numbers of people need to use the bathroom at the same time. How many women here have lamented the fact that MEN have the advantage of having and entire wall of their washroom devoted to multiple urinals IN ADDITION to the same number of private stalls available in the "ladies Room". Hence the ubiquitous line outside the ladies room while none exists outside the men's. The same would apply to a sports stadium or even a gym.
ReplyDeleteIts a good idea, the question becomes how/where to find the extra space.