We had the opportunity to try out a large number of public restrooms on our recent drive through Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Idaho, Utah, Nebraska, Wyoming, Washington and Oregon.  Traveling with someone in an electric wheelchair can be very eye-opening, especially when said person needs assistance in the stall.    So I’ve put together a list of things builders can do to really make a public restroom handicap accessible as well as some instances of places we liked.

It’s obvious to me that most places don’t take this very seriously.  They do the minimum they can to get by under the law.  Fine.  But after I’m done here maybe some will understand why the minimum isn’t all that helpful.  Some of these are fairly common sense but as we know, common sense and the law sometimes miss each other.

1.  Toilet seats
People with limited mobility in their legs or backs appreciate the hand rails, I’m sure.  The rails are good to pull yourself up.  However, the emphasis should also be on not having to pull so far.  Higher toilet seats can go a long way.  All of the seats we came across but one were the same height as all the others.  When we did find a higher one, it was like a party in there.  We’re not asking for seats that automatically lift you, that might be a little much.  Just make them higher and we’ll be good.  This also helps the caregiver who has to use body mechanics to lift the person off of the seat.

2.  Space in general
Having one larger stall is fine.  But remember that not all handicapped people can walk or are just down to a small walker.  Some of us have to get wheelchairs in there, plus a caregiver.  We love the restrooms that not only have plenty of space to get a wheelchair into the room itself and around it, but have a stall that the wheelchair can go into and turn easily while also having room for the caregiver to get in and help out.  Just adding six inches to the sides for a rail is really no help at all.

3.  Trash cans
Trash cans are awesome, we all know this.  But not so good when left in the only path a wheelchair can take to get to a stall.  Leaving that path completely open is a big help all by itself.

4.  Sinks
Some people in wheelchairs can get into most sinks while sitting but may have to lean forward a lot, which can cause pain.  For the truly handicap-conscious, one lower sink can be quite groovy.  It’s also helpful for the kiddies.

5.  Monstrously heavy doors
When building a restroom do this little experiment.  If you have to grunt or otherwise heave or put effort into opening the door, what good will it do for a person with limited strength and mobility?  Those huge doors that seems to be on a vaccu-suck are horrendous if there’s no caregiver around.  A lot of these people are still able to go out on their own, so cut them a little slack on that door, will you?

6.  Hotel rooms in general
Here’s a small hint to hotel owners worldwide.  If your room is tiny, the bathroom is small, and you have one hand rail on the wall, you shouldn’t advertise handicap-accessible rooms.  Those are hand rail rooms for those who can walk.  If you want to be cool with the wheelchair program, here are some great ideas:

Put lots of room around the bed, at least on one side.  We need room for a wheelchair to get in there and turn around.  We also need to get past the desk if there is one.  If all else fails we’ll do without a table, so long as there’s good space.

Walk in bathtubs or showers with no lip are fantabulous.  Motel 6 is actually a king in our books for great handicap bathrooms, at least in the four or so we stayed in.  They had showers you could easily transfer someone into with built in benches for the person to sit on, with removable shower heads to get a full cleaning.  Wonderful.  In fact we were totally thrilled with the Motel 6 rooms we used.  That’s only four or five of course so I can’t speak on all of them, but those were great.  The bathroom should also be pretty big, to get a wheelchair in and allow room for a caregiver to transfer someone to the toilet or shower.  Of course, higher toilets also apply here.

No steps up into a room.  We ran into one place we had to just leave because there were two concrete steps in front of every door.  It is not ideal or possible to pick someone up out of a wheelchair, bring them in, and then bring in the wheelchair (ours only weights several hundred pounds), and then repeat this anytime you come and go.  We’re not all bodybuilders.

I know it’s expensive to renovate sometimes, but let me tell you, when we come across great bathrooms, we’re guaranteed to return to that place.  We avoid places we can’t get into, and if more public places went truly handicap-accessible, they might just get more business from those who gave up long ago.

Coming next, our Utah nightmare and small road tips we’d love to make.