Safe and Secure Restroom Access Helps Muni Run On Time

Safe and Secure Restroom Access Helps Muni Run On Time
By Adrienne Heim

For those working in the field and delivering transit service, restroom access is not as easy as you may think. Bathroom breaks are a human necessity and require advanced planning for our thousands of transit operators. This is particularly true during the pandemic, as the shelter in place guidelines closed many restaurants and offices that were previously available to our transit staff.

Photo of muni operator behind the wheel, wearing a mask

Muni operators provide essential transit service in San Francisco

As the city looks forward to reopening, the SFMTA wants to ensure that all San Franciscans will be able get around the city safely and quickly. This means continuing to invest in maintaining the infrastructure that makes it possible for transit operations to be carried out. And that includes ensuring our Muni bus operators have safe and secure restroom access at the beginning and end of their routes.

Seven years ago, SFMTA’s Operator Restroom Taskforce was formed with a single mission – to overcome obstacles and provide safe, clean and reliable restroom access for staff working in the field throughout the city. And that is exactly what the team members represented by nearly every agency division, including members of Transport Workers Union Local 250A have been doing.

Since 2012, the group has been successful in delivering additional access at key locations, bringing the total number of available restrooms location to 151. This includes securing licenses and free restroom agreements with businesses, buildings, and organizations, portable units and permanent SFMTA dedicated operator restroom facilities.

Completing A Refresh of Older Operator Restrooms

Between 1990 and 2005, 17 standalone restrooms were constructed to kickstart supporting operators out in the field.

Geneva Avenue and Munich Street Operator Restroom built in 1990

Geneva Avenue and Munich Street Operator Restroom built in 1990

Throughout 2020, the Operator Restroom Taskforce sought out additional restroom facilities to compensate for those that had been closed. They also procured and located portable restrooms. Additionally, the group’s maintenance team members began updating 21 restroom facilities, which include the first set of operator restrooms that were built, as well as more recently-built facilities.

This refresh consisted primarily of replacing worn or rusted electrical conduit and plumbing fixtures. Repairing or replacing the Instahot Instant Water Heater was also a top priority because handwashing is essential to safety and hygiene. Paper towel dispensers are also being replaced with electric hand dryers in all of our operator restrooms.

Main and Mission Restroom Refresh October 2020

Main and Mission Restroom Refresh October 2020

Powell Station Staff Restroom Refresh August 2020

Powell Station Staff Restroom Refresh August 2020

The team also built a restroom trailer to support the 30 Stockton bus route to Crissy Field.

Restroom Trailer at the Sports Basement-Crissy Field

Restroom Trailer at the Sports Basement-Crissy Field

By providing reliable restroom access, the SFMTA is working to meet the health and safety needs of our transit operators and other agency field staff, an often-overlooked aspect of improving Muni’s reliability.

Learn more about the project and subscribe to project updates by visiting SFMTA.com/OperatorRestrooms.

Published February 26, 2021 at 11:32PM
https://ift.tt/2ZS4yht

Comments

'Not Joining BJP', Sachin Pilot clears the air amid speculations surrounding political future https://ift.tt/2DDIvTz

Sachin Pilot has reiterated that he is not joining BJP amid speculations surrounding his political future after he openly rebelled against the 'slavery' of the Congress high command. Pilot has reportedly told news agency ANI that he will not be joining BJP. from IndiaTV: Google News Feed https://ift.tt/32mgY3o

MLA hostel in Mumbai evacuated after bomb scare https://ift.tt/3n307dK

An MLA hostel in south Mumbai was evacuated after the city police received a phone call about a bomb being placed in the building, an official said on Tuesday. However, no bomb was found after a search in the premises and the phone call turned out to be a hoax, he said. The incident took place on Monday night when an unidentified person called the police, saying a bomb was placed inside the Akashvani MLA hostel, located near the state secretariat, the official said.

New top story from Time: The Rolling Stones Open Their American Tour, Paying Tribute to Drummer Charlie Watts

https://ift.tt/3o7cVTy ST. LOUIS — The Rolling Stones are touring again, this time without their heartbeat, or at least their backbeat. The legendary rockers launched their pandemic-delayed “No Filter” tour Sunday at the Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis without their drummer of nearly six decades. It was clear from the outset just how much the band members — and the fans — missed Charlie Watts, who died last month at age 80. Except for a private show in Massachusetts last week, the St. Louis concert was their first since Watts’ death. The show opened with an empty stage and only a drumbeat, with photos of Watts flashing on the video board. After the second song, a rousing rendition of “It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll (But I Like It),” Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood came to the front of the stage. Jagger and Richards clasped hands as they thanked fans for the outpouring of support and love for Watts. Jagger acknowledged it was emotional seeing the photos of Watts....

New top story from Time: In the Gently Moving Minari, a Korean Family Finds Home in America’s Heartland

https://ift.tt/3ksxkyn Most stories about immigrants adjusting to America take place in cities, environs where a newcomer may already have family or friends, or at least be able to find a community. The family in writer-director Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari takes a different route: Jacob and Monica (Steven Yeun and Yeri Han) have come to America from Korea to seek better opportunities—we don’t know much more than that. But we do learn that Jacob has a dream of growing things, of being a farmer. Jacob, Monica and their two young children, David and Anne (Alan Kim and Noel Cho), have lived for a time in California, but as the movie opens, we see them driving to what will be their new home: A blocky rectangle of a house propped on cinderblocks, adjacent to a stretch of land that looks like paradise to Jacob—but not to Monica. She says little at first, but her stern silence tells us what she’s thinking: Why have you brought us here? This is 1980s Arkansas; there may be a few Koreans ...

iPhone 12 leaked images appear hinting at its possible display design: Know details https://ift.tt/3hJJ2Ck

Apple is expected to announce at least four iPhone 12 models this year and live images of the entry-level 5.4-inch iPhone 12 are circulating on the Internet. The images, published by "Seekdevice" on Weibo, depict a screen assembly with the familiar notch, minus the TrueDepth camera and other sensors, reports AppleInsider.

New top story from Time: 42% of Women Say They Have Consistently Felt Burned Out at Work in 2021

https://ift.tt/3CRangt Both men and women are feeling even more burned out in 2021 than they were in 2020. Given that the labor force is sojourning through a second year of dangerous work conditions, a lack of childcare options and unprecedented workforce dropout, the fact that Americans are feeling high stress levels isn’t all that surprising. But a distressing new report suggests that pressure put on women to balance work and childcare is leading to disproportionate levels of strain. The annual Women in the Workplace report from McKinsey & Co. and LeanIn.Org found that the gap between women and men who say they are burned out has nearly doubled in the last year. In the survey, which polled more than 65,000 North American employees, 42% of women and 35% of men reported feeling burned out often or almost always in 2021, compared to 32% of women and 28% of men last year. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] We’ve known for quite some time that women are feeling the burdens...

FOX NEWS: Canine influenza outbreak: What dog owners need to know A canine influenza outbreak in Los Angeles is drawing up concern among pet owners on the West Coast.

Canine influenza outbreak: What dog owners need to know A canine influenza outbreak in Los Angeles is drawing up concern among pet owners on the West Coast. via FOX NEWS https://ift.tt/ye1pgKC

New top story from Time: Facebook-Owned Instagram ‘Pausing’ Development of Instagram Kids to Address Concerns

https://ift.tt/3zKVslW Instagram is putting a hold on the development of Instagram kids, geared towards children under 13, so it can address concerns about access and content. Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, wrote in a blog post Monday that a delay will give the company time to “work with parents, experts, policymakers and regulators, to listen to their concerns, and to demonstrate the value and importance of this project for younger teens online today.” The announcement follows a withering series by the Wall Street Journal , which reported that Facebook was aware that the use of Instagram by some teenage girls led to mental health issues and anxiety. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Yet the development of Instagram for a younger audience was met with broader push back almost immediately. Facebook announced the development of Instagram for kids in March, saying at the time that it was “exploring a parent-controlled experience.” The push back was almost immediate and...

UGC Exam Guidelines: Supreme Court hearing to begin shortly | LIVE https://ift.tt/3hQskRN

The Supreme Court will today continue hearing in the matter related to the pleas challenging University Grants Commission's (UGC) revised guidelines of conducting final year university exams across the country. During Thursday's hearing, UGC remained adamant on its decision of not cancelling the final year exams, asking all universities of conducting final year exams by September end, saying July 6, 2020 revised guidelines offer sufficient flexibility and are intended to protect the academic future of students.

New top story from Time: I Left Poverty After Writing ‘Maid.’ But Poverty Never Left Me

https://ift.tt/3kXte3r I signed my first book contract without paying much attention to what it said. I didn’t know at the time that the book would be a best seller or that it would one day inspire a Netflix series . I just needed the money. I was a single mom with a 2-year-old and a 9-year-old, living in low-income housing, and because of a late paycheck, I hadn’t eaten much for a few weeks, subsisting on pizza I paid for with a check I knew would bounce. This wasn’t my first bout of hunger. I had been on food stamps and several other kinds of government assistance since finding out I was pregnant with my older child. My life as a mother had been one of skipping meals, always saving the “good” food, like fresh fruit, for the kids I told myself deserved it more than I did. The apartment was my saving grace. Housing security, after being homeless and forced to move more than a dozen times, was what I needed the most. Hunger I was O.K. with, but the fear of losing the home wher...

My precise view

Search This Blog