Accessible toilets - the good, the bad and the ugly

CtrlSource

Post you experiences and opinions here!

Could you get in and close the door? Was the hand dryer too high? Was it also being used as a general store room?!

I've often thought it'd be a good idea to write a book(let) about it, a sort of Rough Guide to wheelchair toilets in Ireland and oh, would there be some stories to tell!

FranknFurter

The one in starbucks in liffey valley shopping center is the best I have ever seen in my 29 years.
Plenty of room and even has a full lenght mirror that ya wont have to worry about cracking with your chair!.
(The ones in LV center itself however are tiny and awful and you have to get a key from a security guard!)

Stabucks FTW imho.

B

oneweb

I know it's not wholly relevant to tha post but I remember when DIT opened the new Aungier Street extension (which tripled the size of the college) I took advantage of the WCWC (which I didn't need to, bad boy, I know!) and the very first thing I thought was that the open-inwards door was utterly useless to anyone using a wheelchair. Within weeks, they had to have builders pull it out and fit it the right way

Several places I've worked used them as cleaning cupboards, except where I work now, although the sink is miniscule and the handdryer right beside the toilet which means you'd have to reach over it.

Again not completely relative, but they recently had to re-wire all the door access boxes in the building because they would have been too high for a potential wheelchair user - the building is only 8 odd years old, surely the building regs would have provided for that back then??

RainyDay

oneweb wrote:

I know it's not wholly relevant to tha post but I remember when DIT opened the new Aungier Street extension (which tripled the size of the college) I took advantage of the WCWC (which I didn't need to, bad boy, I know!) and the very first thing I thought was that the open-inwards door was utterly useless to anyone using a wheelchair. Within weeks, they had to have builders pull it out and fit it the right way

The current Part M Building Regs Technical Guidance Document shows the accessible bathroom with an inward opening door (see diagram 13). It is generally accepted that outward opening doors are preferable, though there are H&S issues with having doors opening outward. There is a danger that someone walking outside the loo might get slammed when the loo door opens. Locating the loo at the end of a corridor with no passing traffic can address this issue.

The new version of Part M (draft likely to be published for consultation some time in early 2007) might go for outward opening doors.

CtrlSource

Inward opening doors are fine if there is plenty of space for them to close once you get inside. I have had problems with this before and it is still quite common to come across toilets where you have to manoeuvre the chair awkwardly just to get the door closed behind you... and then twice as much bother to open it again!

The hand dryer beside / over the wc: Most recently saw this in Dundrum Town Centre. All the accessible toilets had the dryers beside the toilet, just above the handrails. The thought behind it must have been that one would carry out one's business, wash one's hands and dry them while seated

They have since removed them, but instead of relocating (which may have meant breaking tiles to pass wires etc), they have replaced them with paper hand towel dispenser over beside the bins.

RainyDay

The bathroom in Daisy & Tom's (childrens shop) in Dundrum centre is pretty good, with lots of space and good colour contrast between the fittings and the background, which is very important for people with vision impairments (see attached photo). The only downside is that you have to go through the kids changing room (filled with yummy mummies and their little darlings) to get to the loo, but I suppose it's better than having the loo taken up as a changing area.

The loo in Starbucks in Dundrum is marked as wheelchair, gents and ladies. It is a good size, but unfortunately a large bin is taking up much of the transfer space. Anyone in a large electric chair would have trouble getting into the transfer space (see attached photo).

CtrlSource

Haven't used either, but from your photos, it's obvious that bin in Starbucks is way out of scale for the size of the room! It's almost industrial size

The Daisy & Tom's one looks good alright. One thing, the button flush on top of the cistern would be a problem for people with certain motor function impairments.

cathy01

hi all, I have decided to write to my local hotel about their lack of wheelchair friendly/Disabled toilets.I am not a wheel chair user but , its really bad.One loo downstairs and one up.Thats for two function rooms , the restaurant , the bar.
I am not great at putting on paper what I wan to say so , if anyone there has a letter I could use as a template could you pm it to me.
I just have seeing taps not working, no loo paper, 2 toilets for all the disabled users.
They have just refurbished the Hotel , it cost millions, lovely grant walled ladies loo, no idea of the gents but again no wheel chair access.
One tiny lift.
Doors with handles up high.
Any help would be welcomed.
thanks
Cathy:mad:

RainyDay

Hi Cathy - One accessible loo per floor doesn't seem all that terrible to me! The lack of paper and taps not working are certainly annoying management issues - you might find that a face-to-face encounter with the manager might even be more effective than a letter.

If you feel very strongly, you could contact the Equality AUthority for more advice.

dbnavan

Sorry if this is off topic but just wonder about wheelchair users experience with doors in accessible toilets, i had to use one recently as the gents was out of order, i realised the door was really heavy caused by it being so big for the chair, but i wondered how on earth someone in a chair pulls one of these open while getting a chair inside, with out help, must be a better method.

CtrlSource

Firstly, was in Vue cinema in Liffey Valley during the week. Used one of the toilets there and was impressed with how spacious, clean and well laid out it was. I remember using another toilet in the same cinema ages ago and thinking it was pretty gross, so it must have been a one near one of the other screens.

Then, last weekend, I had the dubious pleasure of using 'the facilities' in a well known bar & restaurant in Bearna, just outside Galway city. The toilet itself was okay, but getting in and out of it was a nightmare! In fact, a year or so ago I nearly got stuck in the same toilet because the door was so heavy! There is no mobile signal in that part of the building so I couldn't even ring my friends who were sitting at the table :rolleyes:

Anyway, at the end of our meal I went to use the toilet and nothing had changed. There is an outer door which opens inwards into a little room which is almost big enough to be a toilet on its own. Then a narrower door straight in front of you which opens into the toilet itself.

It would be virtually impossible to close the inner door without effectively trapping yourself inside. If my chair was any bigger (and mine is only average size) it would be completely impractical.

In the end, I simply left the inner door open and hoped no-one would come in through the outer door! I know that for Health & Safety reasons, they need to have two doors separating a toilet from where people are eating, but this one was ridiculously badly planned. It's a very old building, but a lot of money appears to have been spent on that part of it.

Didn't have time to complain properly (other than a brief word with a waiter). Might write them a short letter suggesting they at least reverse the hinges on both doors.

RainyDay

cathy01 wrote:

I am not great at putting on paper what I wan to say so , if anyone there has a letter I could use as a template could you pm it to me.

Hi Cathy - If you (or others) are still looking for a template complaint letter, have a look at some of the suggestions and template letters in this UK publication. You'll need to remove the references to UK-specific legislation (i.e. DDA).

CtrlSource

Am resurrecting this aged thread because i've had a number of dodgy experiences lately in accessible toilets.

What's the story with hand dryers and towel dispensers being put up nearly touching the ceiling?!

And again with the inward opening door thing! Some of these toilets are really badly thought out. If you're going to put one of those sanitary boxes or paper towel bins beside the toilet (which will usually be facing you) in an already narrow room, how am i going to get my chair far enough into the room and in beside the toilet so that the door can close behind me? Or even if i manage to get the door closed by squashing the chair into an awkward corner, getting back out again can often be tricky.

i've also come across a few instances whereby accessible toilets aren't being re-stocked with the bare essentials (toilet paper, hand soap) as quickly as the other gents & ladies. i found this out recently after noticing a lack of paper and by then going into the adjoining gents and finding full toilet rolls all happily sitting on their rings, waiting to be unfurled.

In another case, the soap dispenser was empty. Fair enough - a minor oversight i thought. But then i happened to check next door in the room marked with the stick man sign and found that they had changed to a different kind of dispenser with a cartridge refill in it, rather than the one in the accessible toilet that would have to be filled manually and was now left empty and rusting around the hinges :rolleyes:

RainyDay

Management of accessible facilities is a huge issue. It's one thing having an accessible loo, but making sure that it is usable to the target audience is another thing entirely. Management need to ensure that it is somebody's job to make sure the transfer area is kept clear, make sure the emergency alarm cord is reachable from the floor, make sure the emergency alarm cord is answered when pulled, make sure any spills are promptly cleaned up etc etc, as well as the points CtrlSource mentions above.

These issues go way beyond bathrooms too. RNID in the UK ran a big campaign last year getting businesses to test/fix induction loop systems, as many places had installed these loops but failed to maintain or test them.