Relief at last? BART may reopen restrooms closed after 9/11

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For BART riders, the long and at times unbearable wait to use the restrooms at underground stations — which were shuttered after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 — may be coming to an end.

But don’t uncross your legs just yet: The first step is to redesign restrooms at two stations, Powell Street in San Francisco and 19th Street in Oakland. And they aren’t scheduled to be up and flushing until early 2018.

BART planners on Thursday unveiled their visions for safer and, they hope, cleaner restrooms that will be tested at the two busy stations as part of modernization projects under way. If they’re successful, restrooms in the system’s eight remaining underground stations would be reopened as each is modernized.

The return of the restrooms would be a relief for BART directors weary of fielding complaints, and for riders eager to use the facilities.

“This is a long overdue solution. I cannot wait,” said Director Robert Raburn of Oakland.

That’s a sentiment shared by many BART riders, especially those with long rides or small bladders.

Every BART station includes a pair of restrooms, designed to be used by one person, behind heavy stainless steel doors that can be locked for privacy. But since the 2001 terrorist attacks, they’ve been closed as a security risk on the advice of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

It’s been so long that some riders, like Casson Gardner, a 34-year-old sales representative from Oakland, didn’t even know that the 19th Street Station ever had public restrooms.

“But it sounds like a good idea,” she said. “People need to use the restroom.”

In the 15 years since the transformational terrorist attacks, the closure of the restrooms has been a constant source of complaints from BART patrons. Many not only feel the occasional need to use the facilities, but believe the absence of restrooms contributes to people urinating in elevators, escalators, corners of stations and even trains.

While the restroom closure has been an inconvenience, it’s also eliminated some problems, including people bathing and washing clothes in the sinks, injecting drugs, taking naps and clogging the toilets and sewers with debris, sometimes flooding parts of stations.

Robert Powers, BART’s assistant general manager for planning, development and construction, said the designs chosen for testing at the Powell Street and 19th Street stations accounted for all of these factors. The idea is to balance convenience and safety.

The designs at the two stations will differ slightly, but both will feature a more open design, providing privacy but also discouraging illegal or inappropriate activities.

The ceiling-to-floor doors will be replaced with translucent barriers and doors that have gaps at the top and bottom, while sinks and hand driers will be moved to an outside area. The rooms will be illuminated with blue lighting, believed to discourage drug users by making it harder to find veins.

During the six-month test, the restrooms will be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and each station will have employees who clean and maintain them. The estimated cost of the Powell Street restrooms is $225,000, with the 19th Street bathrooms expected to cost $175,000. Ongoing maintenance and cleaning expenses, including labor, are projected to cost $135,000 a year for each station.

At Thursday’s BART board meeting, some directors expressed concerns about safety and cleanliness. Directors Joel Keller of Brentwood and John McPartland of Dublin said they wanted Homeland Security to sign off on the plan. Director Gail Murray of Walnut Creek said she wasn’t sure the plans for cleaning and monitoring the restrooms were sufficient.

General Manager Grace Crunican acknowledged that the designs may need changes after being put to the test.

“That’s why we’re trying a pilot program,” she said. “To see if there is something we can learn and change rather than cling to 1972” — a reference to the year BART opened.

Robert Warren, a 68-year-old rider who is retired and lives in San Francisco, said the restrooms aren’t a necessity but would be a welcome addition.

“Having that convenience,” he said, “would certainly be an attribute to the system.”

Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com