New dividers for bathroom stalls - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Kuan · #1 10-02-2007, 09:07 PM

More tax dollars at work.

Quote:

2 airport restrooms to get revamped

Photo by Andy King, Associated Press

The stalls in the men's room at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport where U.S. Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, was arrested June 11 by a Minneapolis airport police officer., are shownSept. 17,

In the wake of Sen. Larry Craig's arrest, stalls in the two men's rooms will get longer dividers to deter sexual encounters.

By Laurie Blake, Star Tribune

Last update: September 29, 2007 – 2:01 PM

Two men's restrooms at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, including the one where Sen. Larry Craig was arrested, will be fitted with longer dividers to make the stalls less enticing locations for sexual encounters.

The Metropolitan Airports Commission will spend $25,000 to change the dividers. The work will be completed over the next two months, said spokesman Patrick Hogan.

Craig, a Republican from Idaho, was arrested at the airport for allegedly signaling his desire for sex to a man in the next stall by tapping his feet and waving his hand under the divider.

That restroom and another men's room -- both on the airport's main shopping and eating thoroughfare -- will be fitted with dividers that nearly reach the floor, Hogan said.

The airport has 80 bathrooms. The pair slated for renovations are among the busiest, Hogan said, and where police have made 41 arrests on suspicion of illicit sexual behavior since May.

Airport officials also discovered that men were advertising the two restrooms on the Internet and making plans to meet there as they changed planes. Complaints about sexual activity in the bathrooms have evaporated since Craig's arrest and people realized the bathrooms were under police surveillance, Hogan said.

Craig is seeking to withdraw his guilty plea to a disorderly conduct charge. He had earlier said he planned to resign from the Senate effective Sunday but last week indicated that he would wait for Hennepin District Judge Charles Porter Jr. to rule on his request. That decision is expected no earlier than the end of next week.

The airport has no plans to lengthen dividers in any of the other restrooms, Hogan said. Making the same changes in all 80 would cost about $1 million.

"If everybody would behave themselves, we wouldn't have to spend money on any of these modifications," Hogan said.

"We are trying to take pro-active measures that don't require us to tie up police officers' time and still protect the public interest," Hogan said, adding that the attention has been an embarrassment for the airport. "We understand that this happens in most large public facilities, but it is not the kind of publicity that we would have liked to have had -- it's not what we want to be known for."

Hogan said he does not know of other airports or public facilities addressing this problem in similar fashion.

The Atlanta airport uses police patrols, Hogan said. Others have installed cameras. "We have decided not to do that," he said.

Laurie Blake • 612-673-1711

Laurie Blake • lblake@startribune.com

Hatterasguy · #2 10-02-2007, 10:04 PM

Great to prevent some in the closet guys from giving eachother hand jobs we have to spend tax money.

Here is an idea, who gives a damn.

cscmc1 · #3 10-02-2007, 11:13 PM

Last time I stopped at a rest area here in IL, the crapper stalls had been replaced with walls that are about half the original height, leaving the interior of the stall open to view for all intents and purposes. Super... God forbid I need to *ahem* take the Browns to the Superbowl on one of my trips through that stretch. Last thing I want is a friggin' audience.

Dee8go · #4 10-03-2007, 09:45 AM

Tap, tap, tap . . . .

Mistress · #5 10-03-2007, 04:20 PM

Haliburton got the contract. This isn't going to do squat (pun intended) all you have to do is bang out (pun intended again) your rendition of Ricky Ricardo's "Baba Loo (yet another pun intended)" on the stall door.

Dee8go · #6 10-03-2007, 04:30 PM

Maybe they should just acknowledge that some people have different preferences and build a couple of two-man "Luv Stalls."

The Swede · #7 10-04-2007, 08:22 AM

I've read that many travelers in the MSP airport ask where the tap, tap, tap bathroom is located. Quite the tourist attraction now.

Mistress · #8 10-04-2007, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Swede

I've read that many travelers in the MSP airport ask where the tap, tap, tap bathroom is located. Quite the tourist attraction now.

That's how they can pay for the renovations- charge a fee for a "look see" and put that in the pot...to pay for the renovations. Better yet, auction it off on E-Bay, probably bring in as much as Ilian Gonzalez' float boat did.

Dee8go · #9 10-04-2007, 04:57 PM

There's a fastener used in the construction industry called a "Tapcon." I suggest they install a "Tap-Cam" with some pay-per-view LCD monitors to subsidize the cost of these renovations.

The Swede · #10 10-04-2007, 05:28 PM

Good idear Dee8,

A tip of the hat and 3 taps to ya.

diametricalbenz · #11 10-04-2007, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Swede

I've read that many travelers in the MSP airport ask where the tap, tap, tap bathroom is located. Quite the tourist attraction now.

They can generate some income by spending some money upfront but can recoup it by selling a travel guide to Minneapolis airport bathrooms and put an exhibit with an anamatronic Larry Craig that makes tapping noises every 3 minutes