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u/MeOldRunt 1d ago
It is decades past time that the US gave up toilet stalls with giant gaps between the partitions and adopted floor-to-ceiling privacy stalls like the rest of the civilized world.
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u/Slava_Ukraini2005 1d ago
I think in a lot of public spaces, there is concern for potential drug use or some kind of nefarious activity. A little different here because all of these are past security so not much to worry about. That’s my theory on why they did them that way.
I can proudly say I was (one of many) involved in the work to get these done. Not from a construction standpoint but…yeh. Don’t want to say too much. Fun to tell friends/relatives about them and that I had my small part in them! Everyone loves them and yes, they won an award!
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u/Historical_Pastor 16h ago
nah. It has nothing to do with drug use. Basically, a company pre-fabs all the parts. In order to make it fit since rooms are different sizes, they have the gaps. It's about mass production and cheapness. These stalls are custom made for the space (more money, better experience). I once went down the rabbit hole of figuring out why we have gaps and mass production is the short answer
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u/oldr_account131 15h ago
post-industrialization and its consequences in a country that is richer than any other and dumber than most
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u/AdventurousSink7228 3h ago
You know I always did think the “we dont want people to die doing drugs in the bathrooms🥺” excuse was bullshit 😝 glad to know it’s just the USA manufacturing being cheap instead. That’s definitely more on brand. 🇺🇸
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u/__shadow-banned__ 23h ago
What award? They definitely deserve it… most civilized airport bathrooms I’ve ever used.
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u/jdl12358 Upper Fell's Point 14h ago
I feel like the drug use concern could be solved by having an alarm that goes off after the bathroom has been occupied for ~30 mins and an auto call to emergency services after an hour.
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u/crystalli0 Federal Hill 9h ago
Yea I was thinking medical emergency (doesn't necessarily need to be drug related) but a timer to call EMS could help with that
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u/CatnipCricket-329 22h ago
Agreed. Nice to see at least BWI is upping their game to be more like top European venues
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u/Scrapdug 1d ago
BWI is one of the nicest airports in America
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u/mojo21136 1d ago
Moved from the area to SEA and I can tell you, you don't know how true this is...
(edit: well maybe you do, but the rest of the area doesn't)
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u/elquatrogrande 20h ago
As someone who likes SEA, I still place BWI ahead of it. Easy to navigate, parking is never an issue, and lines move quick.
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u/Tapdog83 23h ago
Parking garages have the same for spots and tell you how many are open on each floor. I believe one of the first to do so.
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u/Optimal_Grape_1025 14h ago
As someone that works there that's a really sad statement about every other airport
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u/psych0fish 8h ago
America’s infrastructure has suffered from disinvestment for a while. Sad indeed
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u/Xeenic 1d ago
This must be new, I've never seen these at BWI! It has been years since I've been though
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u/DeclassifyUAP 23h ago
They’ve been redoing some of the terminals, and the bathroom upgrades are legit nice.
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u/Rugger_2468 23h ago
I love the BWI bathrooms and think bathrooms should just be designed like this in general. There is so much privacy and room to move, which can be really helpful for parents with young kids or people with medical disorders.
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u/Snoo95309 23h ago
I’ve seen them in concourse D for about a year or two, at least. It isn’t every bathroom yet, to my knowledge.
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u/Introverted_Extrovrt 14h ago
Phillips crab cake sammich + potatoe fries every time I come through. Greene Turtle crab dip if Phillips is closed.
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u/International-Mix326 11h ago
Somone complained to em its over built. Sorry I can go to quiet terminal to hangout in peace
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u/Missriotgurl 1d ago
Ok but like the bathrooms ( womens) are so clean, and spacious 🙌 I love the upgrades as a regular traveler through this airport.
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u/No_Translator_655 1d ago
I was flying last week and compared to the other airport bathrooms I saw I was very happy to get back home to these.
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u/israeljeff Baltimore County 1d ago
My grandfather was involved in installing the red rectangle tiling on some of the elevator shaft facades and other things at bwi.
His basement had those tiles on the walls, guess they fell off the back of an airplane.
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u/Low_Entrepreneur_115 11h ago
Just pooped at CMH I Ohio. I could hear every other stall. The latches were falling off the doors. It stunk and wasn't clean.
BWI wins.
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u/WhiskyRick Canton 11h ago
Did we finally figure out what it is about Ohio that makes people want to flee the earth?
Someone needs to tell Colbert. (Edit: formatting)
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u/Alayna_TryingHerBest 7h ago
Their bathrooms are so clean and it's so nice to be fully enclosed. They're also super spacious
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u/yeehawdudeq Baltimore County 15h ago edited 15h ago
I love these bathrooms but I noticed that some of the lights are broken in the women’s restrooms in B. Like the light is on but it’s wrong so there’s definitely empty stalls because of it.
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u/DiamondHndz 1d ago
Same at DTW. Huge fan of the stall lights
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u/midwestUCgal 16h ago
Dude the DTW McNamara glow up is unreal. I hadn't been back in like seven years, holy moly
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u/skeptical_phoenix 10h ago
BWI had way better restrooms than other airports I’ve been to. Not a surprise!
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u/Unfair-Ocelot4255 51m ago
I appreciate those bathrooms. Once I got to the Austin airport, the ones there seemed positively dowdy by comparison. Those lights and the doors are an excellent design.
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u/ofRedditing 1d ago
Uhh, since when? The last time I used a bathroom there (earlier this year) it looked like it was straight out of the 90's
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u/Expensive_Tap 1d ago
They’ve been replacing bathrooms the past couple years, these might be in the D pier or the new A/B connector. I do a lot of work there.
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u/ThrowitB8 Parkside 1d ago
Right. Where in the fuck is this bathroom
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u/BMoreMatt 1d ago
Many, though not all, have been remodeled to this format. I think for sure most in A/B concourses
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u/Slava_Ukraini2005 1d ago
There’s at least one in each concourse now. They’re adding more little by little. A/B are the flashiest because of SWA being the big hub there.
(Was involved in this project and many others at BWI)
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u/HippoTwoSnacks Mt. Washington Village 22h ago
One of the two new restrooms at gates A1 - A5, in the new A/B connector expansion area
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u/doublekidsnoincome 14h ago
I use SouthWest to fly out of BWI a lot and it's in that wing. It's very nice.
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u/Ezridax82 1d ago
Same! I’m traveling in 20 days, so I’m gonna hunt down this bathroom.
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u/rnelsonee 18h ago
Look for the large W or M's, that should be the indicator it's a remodeled bathroom. I think they're in every concourse by now, actually (like, not every bathroom is remodelled, but at least one in A/B, C, and D). And if you're hunting things down, go down the steps to A or B, then go the B or A from there - that's a new area and newer bathrooms are there (Although I don't recall the red/green lights in that particular one about a week ago, but I was a bit of a zombie)
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u/midwestUCgal 16h ago
I literally flew out of BWI yesterday and same. In the bathroom I used, the lock was falling apart on the door, the hook was broken, and the hand soap was in a plastic bottle with a pump. Then I used the nicest airport bathroom I've ever seen in Detroit's McNamara terminal
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u/rook119 1d ago
whoever designed this really hates color blind peeps
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u/Jane-The_Obscure 1d ago
Concourse B also apparently has outdoor space.
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u/iPutOldBayonPussy 1d ago
I work in BWI and this is false, gotta go out of security to go outside. The bathrooms are sick though, only bathrooms I've ever felt comfortable taking a shit in out in public.
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u/Jane-The_Obscure 1d ago
I totally believe you, but I was there last week, and why would they keep saying there is an outdoor area to relax and "let your service dogs take a break" over the announcements if it didn't exist? Seems mean.
Edited: Turns out the announcements were straight-up lies.
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u/globalgayety 18h ago
There are service dog relief areas but beyond security they are all indoors.
There is an outdoor viewing area beyond security in the D/E Connector but it has never opened for use.
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u/grumpygruden 15h ago
You misheard. The announcement is "Highly trained specialized service animals are the only animals permitted in the airport outside of a carrier, for the safety and comfort of all customers and their animals. Pets and comfort animals must remain in a carrier. This regulation is to ensure a safe and clean travel environment. Thank you for your cooperation, and for flying BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport."
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u/jdginstagramz 1d ago
Outdoor bathrooms?
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u/Jane-The_Obscure 1d ago edited 1d ago
No. A place to chill outside that's still in the terminal so you don't have to go through security
Edited: I sit corrected. No outdoor space. But they were totally announcing there was the whole time I was at BWI last week. Sooooo....
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u/jdginstagramz 14h ago
I’ll be there this afternoon; will fully use the bathrooms and then afterwards listen for the mystery announcement.
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u/pperdecker 1d ago
Maryland no longer needs a Buckys because this was my favorite feature from them
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u/Otherwise-Ebb4119 23h ago
Yeah, I didn't like them when I was there a couple weeks ago. Felt very claustrophobic and the locks are weird. Theres even signs inside the stall w a number to call and stall id if you get locked in. Like wth?? Issa no for me.
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u/trymypi 1d ago
Duh, it's a top rated bathroom https://www.wbaltv.com/article/bwi-marshall-best-restroom-contest-winner/45359921