Is potty ‘parity’ enough in public places?
Soon it will be Opening Day 2007, and female Cardinals fans will have just as many places to…er, tinkle…as men in the new Busch Stadium. That’s more than they could say last season, when the stadium opened its doors with 37 fewer “female” toilets than “male” toilets.
Turns out that the Busch architects failed to account for a Missouri state law that requires “potty parity” — an equal number of publicly available toilets for men and women in public places such as stadiums, theaters and arenas. Says Elizabethe Holland’s story:
The stadium’s restrooms are now being renovated to get the stadium up to grade for the first game April 1, according to Cardinals president Mark Lamping.
The law, enacted in 1995, requires that sports stadiums and other large public venues have an equal number of water closets — or toilets — for women as there are toilets and urinals for men.
The new total for both men and women at Busch: 334.
The Post-Dispatch first reported on the disparity back near Opening Day 2006 — and it was news to the architects, the Cardinals and the city. Oh, and the Post-Dispatch also took grief from some readers who couldn’t believe this was a story worth reporting on.
But, alas, I don’t usually have to stand in long lines waiting for the restroom. I’m a man. The ladies room, however? That’s a different story. I suspect there’s plenty of Cardinals fans who are pretty happy about the change.
But is parity enough? Some places (New York City, for example) actually require more toilets for women than for men. Or are you among those who think this is a non-story? If so, why? And don’t give me that line about how we’re fighting a war in Iraq and there’s a presidential campaign heating up and this, THIS is the most important thing to talk about? We’ve talked about those things, too, folks. Lighten up.
Kurt is the director of social media for the Post-Dispatch, where he has worked since August 2002. He's been a journalist since 1982, covering municipal government, courts, education and two hurricanes as a reporter before becoming an editor. 
There should be potty parity - in fact, I support unisex bathrooms. I think it is sorta sexy when a cute woman unabashedly takes a leak in front of guys.
Let me tell you something about the Cardinals bathrooms vis-a-vis the Cubs bathrooms: we have it made. Most of those neurotic Chicago fans take twnety minutes to use the potty!