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Welcome relief: South Station women's room now at 'airport grade'
By adamg on Mon, 11/18/2013 - 1:09pm
So the Boston Business Journal informs us. Can those of us of the wrong gender, who still have to put up with "train station grade" facilities, get a report from those of the lucky gender?
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Comments
As someone who frequents South Station...
and is of the female gender, I will gladly keep you posted. However, methinks that, without a dedicated bathroom attendant,
the vandalism will continue on those bright and shiny airport grade quality bathroom stalls.
On another note:
http://www.gadling.com/2013/08/07/airport-dog-bathroom-opens/
Thanks for keeping on top of
Thanks for keeping on top of this, whyaduck!
Yup.
Won't be long before drunk girls from the North End are shitting on the floor.
North Station next?
Great! so can they work on North Station next? That thing is one of the worst bathrooms in Boston (the women's side, at least). the stalls are cramped (particularly if you're traveling with luggage and would like to bring it in with you), dirty, and half the door latches are broken at any given time. and to add to the ambiance, it sounds like there are 10 massive diesel trucks idling right over-head. I pretty much need ear plugs and a hazmat suite to go in there.
North Station, you say?
Never had the fortune to try them out, but I'm finding it hard to picture anything worse than the restrooms at Back Bay at rush hour, except maybe the restrooms at Back Bay at rush hour during a summer heat wave.
<shudder>
The Back Bay Women's room used to be like the one in Trainspotting but has been cleaned up in recent years. Not my first choice, but I wouldn't hesitate to use it in need. Well, maybe I'd peek in first to see how close to the end of its cleaning cycle it was.
Copley Place is a decent alternative, but sort of a haul if you've got luggage.
You know what's worse? The
You know what's worse? The restrooms under Fanueil Hall in the middle of summer.
The North Station ones
are also kind of isolated in the back, down a long hallway that often has low traffic. Not my choice of location for a ladies' room.
Worthy?
Good to know that the bathrooms are so nice there. Perhaps worthy of a sex change?
Sort of an improvement?
The new restrooms are certainly clean (for now) and have vastly better hand dryers. However, it feels more cramped due to the lower ceiling and the zigzag layout. I'm assuming the layout is due to necessity. I and several other women found ourselves wandering in and then wondering where to stand to wait, after it became apparent that all the stalls were occupied. At least, they seemed occupied. Would it have been so hard to use a red/green indicator on the doors to let you know if they are locked/occupied?? No. Brainer.
The doors stay pretty well closed even when unlatched. The stalls are certainly more private than they used to be, which is nice.
I'm glad I only commute with my messenger bag, as there isn't much room to navigate a suitcase through the restroom, let alone move past someone with luggage. First impression: eh. Not awful, not awesome.
Grey must be the "in" color for airport quality grade bathrooms
The uglification of South Station continues....
I checked them out this morning. I agree. Meh.
First, they should of placed a sign pointing towards the bathrooms as one walks into South Station from the tracks. They have one on the opposite wall for folks walking into South Station from the street. I walked right by, thinking the entrance was at/near the old Clark's entrance.
I know you are just there to do your business and get out but it feels really cramped in there. The old bathroom was more open. Now we have low ceilings and a narrow layout, with very little standing room space, which will necessitate any long line to extend into South Station. The hand dryers look like advant garde men's urinals.
I categorize this under "what the heck were they thinking?!?"
Layout was better in the old bathrooms
My first reaction when I went in was "Great. A male who has never used the South Station bathrooms designed this."
New fixtures and shiny metal stalls are all nice and such - but practicality is key in this type of space, and it's just NOT practical in any way.
The new ones have this close, cramped, wandering path through the stalls that's barely wide enough for two people to pass each other. There are hidden sightlines, which is a bit unsettling safety-wise.
But really, there are two important things that cause problems with the layout:
1) it's a women's bathroom. There's always a line.
2) There's less space by the sinks than the old bathroom. The old bathroom had four sinks on one side and a separate counter on the other for those women fixing hair/makeup/etc. Now there are five sinks, but no separate counter, so EVERYTHING is happening in one smaller area than before. The hand dryers are also crammed in there.
There are now lines to use the toilet and lines to wash your hands afterwards, and everything's done right on top of each other.
Definitely a "did they THINK this design through? Really?" Airport quality? No. I'd caution anyone trying to roll luggage in here due to the cramped size. I'm also concerned about those who need mobility assistance, because with the lines it's definitely not handicapped friendly.