Lately, I have been thinking about bathroom doors in community spaces. Specifically coffee shops, restaurants and the like. See, a few months ago, I went to a popular coffee shop chain, and halfway through my meal, I needed the loo. So I went to use the toilet. This particular toilet was labeled an accessibility toilet, the only other one wasn’t working. On the door, was a keypad entry lock system. I was given the pin code but it wasn’t easy for two reasons:
- I’m dyslexic and I’m given a 4 digit pin on a piece of paper while desperate for the loo. That does not help with the moving of the numbers.
- I have cerebral palsy and to open the door you needed two hands. I have one functional hand.
Thankfully someone else queueing helped me open the door. I wouldn’t have made it to the toilet in time if I hadn’t had help. Except… 99.9% of the time, I do not need help opening a bathroom door. In fact, this was really the first time. All because they had only one toilet working (the disabled access toilet) and they decided to have a key system on the door.
What is the issue with the keypad locks?
I had never seen keypad locks on a disabled toilet before, so I had never thought about it until now. It’s at standing height. People in wheelchairs cannot open the doors themselves. When I went to a popular fast food burger restaurant, they had a pin-lock there blocking access to the corridor that held all toilets including the disabled one. Wheelchair users should be able to open the door themselves, and safely. Some can transfer and may not need assistance using the toilet and may not have anyone to help them with the surprise lock.
Additionally, someone with IBS, or urostomy bag may need to access the toilet quickly. What if they left the receipt on the table? What if, in their distress, they cannot read the pin code?
Disabled people have a lot to think about already when they go out. If they use public transport, they may have to worry about whether there will be space for them on the bus, whether the taxi is going to argue with them. Some have to plan routes where they know the pavement drops down. Some have to determine, with their medication, their needs and everything else, exactly how early they can leave and the latest that they can get back.
What they shouldn’t have to worry about is whether they can use the disabled toilet or not because a code system is in place. To be honest, too many places also use too small of a toilet, more places should have ‘Changing Places’, especially if they’re a big enough venue. You can forgive the small venues, but big venues should definitely improve the facilities. That’s a different issue though.
The issue with the key-code system is that it strips independence.
Why are venues using the keypad locks?
I emailed the coffee shop chain and their response was nowhere near helpful. Just a ‘thank you for your feedback’, sorry for any convenience, and a message about the keypad locks being put in place to stop abuse of the faculties.
Stopping abuse is important. Disabled people know that. We’ve seen people abuse our facilities all our lives. Not just toilets, but the disabled bays. The priority seats on busses and trains. We get it. Abuse needs to be countered. We won’t argue with that. But it shouldn’t come at the cost of accessibility. It shouldn’t strip disabled people of not only independence, but a human necessary.
There are other methods that could be put into place, such as the RADAR key system, more monitoring of the toilets. For the disabled facilities, the RADAR key would be the best solution.
What is the Radar Key?
The RADAR Key is a special key made for disabled individuals to access disabled toilets. Each toilet that has a RADAR key system in place requires the exact same key. There is no pin to enter, and the keyhole is at a height where the disabled individual would be able to turn the lock if they are on their own and are a wheelchair user.
The radar key is specifically designed so that disabled people are able to access the toilet as and when they need it.
Many disabled individuals carry this key with them because they know that some venues have this system and there is no issue. Those that do not own a key or who have forgotten theirs would be able to ask the staff for the radar key.
A person with a disability is not likely wanting to abuse one of the few places that they can access. It would take away the fears of the coffee chain that felt the keypad lock was the only solution. I had suggested a RADAR key to them but they hadn’t responded to this. The keypad locks could still be implemented on the able-bodied toilet.
The keypad locked corridor
For the fast-food place where the toilets have a designated corridor, it is harder to stop the abuse of facilities in one sense because the removal of the lock on the door would allow easy access to the able-bodied toilets. The radar key would still prevent abuse to the disabled toilet but wouldn’t help much with the abled-bodied.
I still do not think that there should be a key pad system in place when it blocks access to the disabled toilet. The only solution I can think for the fast-food place is more maintenance and cleaning. I’m sure we’ve all been to community toilets and found the place has pee all over the floor, tissue everywhere, toilet blocked, cubicles broken.
This, I believe, is the abuse that the companies want to prevent, and it’s tricky. Regular maintenance might force people to behave. The only other option would be to have the pin-lock specifically on the toilet for able-bodied users. The downside would mean that they would have to have two keypads installed but if they can set both to the same code, it shouldn’t be too much of an issue and prevents stripping disabled people of independence.
Conclusion
The key code systems at community venues are a bad idea. It prevents disabled people from being able to use the toilet independently. A basic human need. What would be better would be for the keypad to be replaced with a RADAR key that would let the disabled individual use the toilet without issue.
If the company sees it fit, they could still use the keypad for able-bodied toilets (though admittedly, I still don’t like the system, even for able-bodied people). This overall would prevent people from abusing the disabled toilets who do not need to use the disabled toilet. The key is easy to obtain if you have a disability, there is no application process, it works on the basis that people who are not disabled are not going to buy the key.
If there is a keypad for able-bodied toilets, then the owner of the venue won’t have to worry about the facilities from being abused from the public having easy access, though I think more frequent checks might also help with this.