But heh, I must stand by and uphold the rights of disabled folks to have sanitation accommodations that are sufficient in capacity.

Interestingly enough, it’s EXACTLY one month after I noticed the signs went up:

April 23, 2006

Respecting the Rights and Needs of our Colleagues with Disabilities

Staff or visitors with physical disabilities, particularly those in wheelchairs, can’t use the standard washrooms in this building. They need to use the washrooms that have been specifically designed to meet their needs. There are no more than two such rooms on any floor of the Broadcasting Centre.

In recent months, there has been a growing trend of able-bodied individuals using these washrooms instead of the standard washrooms that are located next door. In some cases, special needs washrooms have been taken over for lengthy periods of time and left with extensive water and/or newspapers scattered on the floor.

In so doing, non-disabled users are making these washrooms unavailable to their physically disabled neighbours, and leaving them in a potentially dangerous state.

We have recently posted signs on the door of each wheelchair accessible washroom as a reminder that they are reserved for the use of physically disabled staff and visitors.

We would also remind you that there are designated shower rooms on the B3, 6th, 9th and 10th floor levels.

Please respect the rights and needs of our colleagues with disabilities.

Fair enough – people with disabilities should never have to put up with such behaviour.

But I still wonder why this message didn’t come out first, including, “…in the coming weeks, signs will be posted…” – as tends to be normal practice around here.

Or even asking people to smarten up, and then see if signage and an official policy is still necessary.

Regardless, clarity at last.

I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to post your comments here – it’s extremely helpful to get both your perspective and the background information, and I really appreciate it. It’s what I had hoped would come from the discussion in the first place.

You raise a lot of issues I hadn’t thought about, and hadn’t witnessed (you work in a much busier section of the building than I do.) Though I’ve never seen anyone waiting for the washroom near my area, I can certainly understand the frustrations you’ve have to face. That should never happen.

I suppose my only comment from all of this is that for issues like this in the future, it might be helpful to start the communication process before the signage goes up.

When signs appear, seemingly at random (I note that now there are signs on all washrooms for people with disabilities – for the first few days they appeared in some places and not others), featuring something that sounds like a new and unexplained rule, people naturally start speculating until it is explained.

It’s obvious, from reading the comments here, that in most parts of the world able-bodied people are unclear on appropriate behaviour around these facilities. Hopefully our experience and this discussion will shed a little light on it.

Thanks again.

I’m one of the disabled employees at the CBC who asked building services to do something about the use and abuse of the accessible washrooms.

I hope at the end of this, you realize this is a serious issue and not one of “convenience.”

I, like many disabled people, need an attendant to assist me with my personal care. A good two out of five days at work, she and I wait to use the accessible washroom because someone’s decided to read a newspaper or brush their teeth or wash out their lunch bowl. As a result, my time and hers (which is paid for) is wasted. It already takes me a lot longer to go to the bathroom than an able-bodied woman, and so time spent either waiting or running around finding a free bathroom is just additional time out of an already busy day.

There are only two washrooms for people with disabilities per floor. More often than not, they are occupied by able-bodied people, particularly in high traffic areas where production takes place. I’ve never understood why able-bodied people feel as though they have a “right” to use the accessible washrooms. After all, the world is built around walkies and your needs. Able-bodied people have more options in just about everything, including where they go to the bathroom.

The bathrooms are not a convenience to people with disabilities nor should they be considered special treatment. They’re larger to accommodate a wheelchair and another person should a disabled individual need assistance.

I’m glad the signs are up. If people need to change, we have dressing rooms on the sixth floor. If you need a place to cry, there are plenty of empty boardrooms. If you need a place to read the paper, there’s the library.

As for parents with small children, they should use the accessible washroom. I support that wholeheartedly. But given that our workplace is full of adults, I doubt the sign is going to be a huge issue for young families.

I also understand that a note will be out soon, explaining where building management is coming from. I hope this clarifies things.

As I said a couple of times, I don’t have strong feelings one way or the other about this move. I haven’t set foot in the disabled washrooms since the signs went up.

But there are a few things around the way it was carried out which I think are interesting.

- The signs don’t say be “a bit more considerate” – they say don’t use them. It remains the ONLY instance I’ve ever seen of such washrooms being posted as off limits to anyone. (But if there are other examples of such a rule or signage, I’d be interested to hear about them.) It certainly generated a lot of interest

- The signage was not applied consistently throughout the building – less than half of the washrooms I checked had the signs. Is the plan to put them on all doors?

- I’d be keen on hearing more about the other initiatives to educate able-bodied individuals. Were other methods – an all staff e-mail, or temporary signs – considered? Judging by the discussion here, it seems nobody is very clear on appropriate etiquette, at CBC or anywhere else in the world. I’m not sure the signs cleared that up.

- The answer from Profac was that the move was a result of “inappropriate behaviour”, and anecdotal evidence suggests that there were complaints about these washrooms based not on able-bodied people using them while the disabled had to wait, but complaints about noise and smell. Is this untrue?

Anyhow, I don’t mean to put anyone on the spot, I’m just delighted to see some real information put forward rather than speculation. The fact that there is so much speculation, and so few answers (why is everyone turning to my blog to find out?!?) indicates there’s still some communicating to do.

p.s. In my area, there is no kitchenette. It was removed to make way for more cubicles. Should I avoid ducking in to fill the kettle in the deeper sink?

These washrooms are designed with a mobility-impaired person in mind. The sink is lower, there are handle bars for them to access the washroom and an alarm in case there is a problem.

As one person who is mobility-impaired stated this is a personal care attendant for them. The fact that there are no apparent people with disabilities on a particular floor is a very uneducated comment to make.

We have over 15 people in the building who qualify as mobility-impaired and as far as I know are not restricted to stay on the floor they work in so they are all over the building. We also have guests and people who work on a temporary basis coming in our building who also require the use of these washrooms.

The signs are a reminder that if you can use another facility you should consider that someone who requires it might need it at the time when you are infringing on their rights. CBC has designed these as per the building codes which include providing mobility-impaired employees and guests with accessible accomodations.

There are others who use this washroom and might not have obvious signs of disabilities, this is also intended for them. The doors are not locked and are accessible to all. We simply ask that people are a bit more considerate of the fact that the setup in these washrooms are for people who are mobility-impaired.

I am on the Toronto Health and Safety and proposed some of these changes and will gladly talk to anyone who has an issue with the signs and other initiatives that will occur to educate able-bodied individuals of the rights of our mobility-impaired workforce here at the CBC.

ps: I have worked here 5 years and never use them. I change in a regular stall, wash my containers in the kitchenette and if I have flatulence and it offends anyone in the next stall oh well.

A semi-official answer

Kids and the disabled stalls