Are Accessible Toilets Always Accessible?

Dealing with mobility issues for the past decade, I have experienced many accessible bathrooms across the continent. Most are horribly designed, non–code compliant, and have the weakest attempts at being even slightly accessible. I have seen grab bars five feet from the toilet, stalls merely three feet wide, toilet paper dispensers one foot off the ground (YSoA 6th floor bathroom), and too often, a complete lack of accessible bathrooms in public spaces.

With hopes of creating a bathroom design guide, my younger sister and I have begun documenting and critiquing accessible bathrooms every time we visit a new place. We inspect everything from bathroom doors (height, weight, handles, direction, lock mechanism), grab bar and toilet paper locations (height, proximity to toilet, potential obstructions), to spatial arrangements (distance between toilet and other fixtures, turning radius, reach for soap/paper towels, location of accessible bathroom).

Next time you visit a public bathroom, take a look at the accessible stall, and ask yourself: “How is this bathroom failing (or succeeding) at being accessible for people with disabilities or mobility issues?”

Yale Peabody Museum

• Quick Critique: Garbage is directly beneath the paper towels and obstructs access to the exit; the emergency pull string is tied up (and therefore unusable); the bathroom door is very heavy, and the handle must be twisted to open.*