BART reopens bathroom shuttered for 20 years bringing ‘new era’ of rider relief

mercurynews ^ | ELIYAHU KAMISHER

[BenLurkin]

Restrooms in eight other underground stations in Oakland, San Francisco and Berkeley remain closed. While above-ground bathrooms quickly reopened, BART, citing federal guidance, said the underground bathrooms’ ventilation system could be a staging ground for an attack.

The new Powell Street bathroom features two all-gender stalls with a hand-washing sink located outside the bathroom. There are railings enclosing the toilets to ensure access for people with disabilities, and instead of rolled toilet paper, a metal box dispenses hand-sized squares of thin tissue.

The design is similar to modern airport restrooms, with no entrance door separating the facility from the station to prevent users from locking themselves in. However, the wide entrance combined with a lack of an entrance door does give the thousands of people passing by the restroom each day a direct line of sight into the stall, where they can glimpse the toilet user’s legs.

[moovova]

"We don't need no stinkin' bathrooms! We got sidewalks."

[Vaduz]

As the slackers call them sleepers.