Using a restroom along the Metrorail system may not seem like the most appealing experience, but if you’ve got to go, know that you can.
The project has been a labor of love for Metro. It’s taken 14 years to renovate all 169 restrooms across the system, the transit agency says. The post included a video showing the renovation work.
"Need access to a restroom? Just ask a station manager!" Metro wrote in a post on X.
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The newly renovated bathrooms at Metro Center are marked as “E202 Customer Restroom” on the door. Inside there are brown and gray wall tiles above dark brown floors. The bathroom checklist is completed with white toilets and urinals that flush, sinks with running water and toilet paper, soap and paper towel dispensers.
The restrooms are also now fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Accessibility features include silver grab bars.
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“I’m pretty sure everybody wants to feel sanitized when they go to the bathroom,” rider Kaitlyn House said.
Passengers will have to a station manager to let them into the restroom, as many of them are behind locked doors. Metro says that's due to security purposes.
Metro said it’s working on better signage in stations to let riders know about the restrooms.
“Did you even know that you could use one in the Metro station?” News4 asked some passengers.
“No, I thought it was only for the employees or something,” rider Ash Haque said.
“Are you happy that they did that?”
“Oh yeah, it’s great to have that option, you know,” Haque said.
Many riders replying to Metro's X post said they didn’t know the transit system had restrooms.
“What restrooms? I've ridden metro for 11 years, visited dozens of stations, and have never seen one, or even a single sign pointing one out!” @rhondaleeindc wrote on X.
“I have literally never seen the inside of a metro bathroom. Whenever I’ve asked, they were “out of service.” I fully stopped asking because I just assume they’re staff-only,” @StevenGlassman wrote on X.
"Now all you have to do is put up signs so people know they exist and tell station managers not to hide the fact they exist," @HutchMcDonald wrote on X.
Metro responded to some of these social media posts, writing: "Part of our renovation efforts include addressing customer access to the restrooms within our stations."
Metro said more information about how to find the restrooms is forthcoming.
In the meantime, if you have to go, take comfort that a better restroom experience is potentially waiting for you on your Metro travels.
