Downtown Seattle (TARGET) bathroom health hazard (motel, theater, subsidized)

[Bballer9018]

I was shopping in downtown Seattle at target and had an awful experience I wanted to voice it with the public and hear oppinions 👂 💡

Have been shopping downtown target often and for weeks they have been telling me the bathroom is down for repair. They then say they use there own restroom and that no I'm not aloud to use that bathroom. I shop everyday for groceries at this location and I'm a familiar face. I have contacted target corporate and the Seattle health department to alert them of the health and safety hazard. The manager Elizabeth that called the cops said she was scared of me because I was upset about wanting to use the bathroom she felt "threatened" and tried to lie about me cursing as well. I felt scared when the cops showed up for no reason and felt like I would be arrested for simply asking to use the bathroom. Please public chime in let me know is it leggallly and morally correct to now allow me to use a public restroom I have a small bladder and need to go often and I shop there every day so naturally I need a bathroom.
Elizabeth also claimed I could use hard rock cafes bathroom i went there and asked them if it was 👌🏿 okay and they said no. They where upset to hear and realized a lot had been sneaking into the bathroom

[Sockeye66]

Of course they should let customers use their restrooms, I don't know of any law that mandates it's required.

It's clear they don't want your business, do you have other shopping options?

[leastprime]

Try Pike Place publics.

[RustinginSeattle]

They close them because the local druggies are in there shooting up, stinking it up and bathing. They are not legally allowed to let some customers use the bathroom and not others. Sorry that happened to you, but that situation is caused by the homeless and druggie situation down there.

[hurricaneMan1992]

About a week ago I had my first downtown Target bathroom "experience." First off there's a sign that says time limit 15 minutes, which I've never seen before but, whatever. Well it's not, turns out homeless were using the toilet stalls for God knows what, but not pooping. I patiently waited around 5 minutes for one guy to get out because I still had to poop, he was repacking/reorganizing stuff in his pack as far as I could tell. No big issue really. No sooner than I got in, two others were wanting to use the toilet, one seemed to be a customer and the other homeless (maybe also I customer for all I know). The "customer" guy loudly proclaiming "I actually have to take a crap, guys." Add that to the list of "this just happened!" The women's restroom seemed relatively fine as my wife was in and out in a minute with no stories to tell. Note this was about an hour before closing and I've since used it to pee earlier in the afternoon without noting the same thing going on. I'm not saying this is why the restrooms were closed to customers, but man, who knows what might of happened in there, did that guy in the other stall *ever* get out?

Unfortunately, Target is the only grocery option downtown that's open until 11, but Kress IGA around the corner is open until 10 and I recommend it over Target's grocery section any day. No restroom at Kress that I could see, though. If you have a car or Zipcar membership, best bet for occasional "big shopping" runs possibly involving restroom use is probably to go to Safeway.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by RustinginSeattle

They close them because the local druggies are in there shooting up, stinking it up and bathing. They are not legally allowed to let some customers use the bathroom and not others. Sorry that happened to you, but that situation is caused by the homeless and druggie situation down there.

If you have to go, those few blocks from the Market are still pretty far to go from Target in a hurry with the traffic and signals. There is no law requiring businesses to have restrooms available to the public, only to their employees (except large restaurants over 800 sf). If they do make them available to the customers, they must be ADA compliant. Here in WA state, the law does require any business to allow a customer with valid medical conditions to use the employee restroom. One would have to carry the correct documentation with them, for proof.

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/bil.../1138-S.PL.pdf

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by Bballer9018

Please public chime in let me know is it leggallly and morally correct to no[t] allow me to use a public restroom I have a small bladder and need to go often and I shop there every day so naturally I need a bathroom.

State law allows customers with eligible medical conditions to use employee restrooms in retail establishments:

Restroom Access :: Washington State Department of Health

Note that a retail establishment with an employee restroom must allow any customer to use the restroom during normal business hours, if a list of conditions are true, but including a major loophole: customer access to the employee restroom doesn't pose a security risk to the business or its employees.

[bergun]

Ha!! And you're shocked that all the junkies are screwing up everything downtown?? That's been going on for years!! I still remember when the place was JC Penny's back in the late 70s... Before leaving for military service. It was a decent and clean place to stop at... With clean restrooms in several locations thought the store.

Being an older guy, I make sure I take care of all my "business" before heading downtown since I don't want to deal with all the BS.

"I" don't blame the businesses one bit because if they don't treat everybody, to include the junkies the same, they are setting themselves up to be sued over something stupid, like violating the rights of junkies to shoot up their dope or treat a stall like a Motel 6.

Seattle, has allowed all the craziness to happen for years and now we are shocked that the inmates are now running the asylum. Now that's funny!! By electing people without any common sense to political office or voting and/or supporting fantasy type ideals, we're all screwed for the immediate future or until people finally wake up and ditch all the failed policies, hopes and ideals soley based on emotions, not facts, the downtown area is only going to get worse. The downtown area isn't going to "self-correct" by itself... Not now or ever. It's going to take the voting public to finally vote for and support real ideals that are based on facts, not emotions, even if it hurts somebody's feelings to regain control.

For the life of me, I still can't figure out why junkies, criminals and the homeless with violent behavior/mental issues have far more rights than the average working... Tax paying and law bidding citizen in this city.

Growing up in the 70s, downtown Seattle has some issues, like most of 1st Avenue being XXX peep shows and adult theaters. If "I" had the power to return Seattle, for the most part, back to its pre-80s status, I would in a heartbeat because there was still a level of order, which allowed people and businesses to function in a normal manner.

To be honest, the issue involving public restrooms in the downtown area businesses is only the very tip of what is really wrong with downtown Seattle and Seattle as a whole.

[elkotronics]

Well said comments on downtown, bergun. Seattle is just another large city in a system of things that is breaking down. It is inevitable, because without strong moral values, infrastructure crumbles. Oh, it might take time, so you think everything's just fine. Watch this thing go down. Glad I'm long gone from Skid-da-ttle.

[pikabike]

Originally Posted by bergun

Ha!! And you're shocked that all the junkies are screwing up everything downtown?? That's been going on for years!! I still remember when the place was JC Penny's back in the late 70s... Before leaving for military service. It was a decent and clean place to stop at... With clean restrooms in several locations thought the store.

Being an older guy, I make sure I take care of all my "business" before heading downtown since I don't want to deal with all the BS.

"I" don't blame the businesses one bit because if they don't treat everybody, to include the junkies the same, they are setting themselves up to be sued over something stupid, like violating the rights of junkies to shoot up their dope or treat a stall like a Motel 6.

Seattle, has allowed all the craziness to happen for years and now we are shocked that the inmates are now running the asylum. Now that's funny!! By electing people without any common sense to political office or voting and/or supporting fantasy type ideals, we're all screwed for the immediate future or until people finally wake up and ditch all the failed policies, hopes and ideals soley based on emotions, not facts, the downtown area is only going to get worse. The downtown area isn't going to "self-correct" by itself... Not now or ever. It's going to take the voting public to finally vote for and support real ideals that are based on facts, not emotions, even if it hurts somebody's feelings to regain control.

For the life of me, I still can't figure out why junkies, criminals and the homeless with violent behavior/mental issues have far more rights than the average working... Tax paying and law bidding citizen in this city.

Growing up in the 70s, downtown Seattle has some issues, like most of 1st Avenue being XXX peep shows and adult theaters. If "I" had the power to return Seattle, for the most part, back to its pre-80s status, I would in a heartbeat because there was still a level of order, which allowed people and businesses to function in a normal manner.

To be honest, the issue involving public restrooms in the downtown area businesses is only the very tip of what is really wrong with downtown Seattle and Seattle as a whole.

This, a million times over! I could have bolded the entire post, it rings so true. Except for one thing: the Seattle sickness (in the head) has spread far beyond Seattle. It's like elected officials get chosen based on feel-good rhetoric instead of fact-based reasoning. Those people and the people who vote for them cut off their city's nose to spite its face. Who the hll do they think pays and pays and pays for the shabby infrastructure in the first place? And then slackers have the nerve to demand equal or BETTER digs than some of the taxpayers themselves own. What a bassackward place.

The best tax-subsidized gift that the city can give is The Ultimate High. The junkie gets to choose, Do I Want the BEST High Ever? or Do I Want To Live? We already know the answer to that one.