Restrooms Not Required With Fill-Up

Hey Johnston: How can gas stations get away with taking our money, selling us gallons of miscellaneous soft drinks, and not having public toilets? I am a bit tired of their "go use the bathroom in the restaurant across the street." What state agencies and/or individual do we get after to stop this?

ANSWER: We feel your pain. There's nothing worse than draining 32 ounces of liquid refreshment and pulling into a gas station, hopping on one leg into the station that sold you the garbage-can-size drink, only to be told there isn't a bathroom "on the premises." So where does the guy in the baseball cap behind the counter go?

We thought places that sell food (minimarts, gas stations, restaurants, etc.) were required to have public bathrooms. But it turns out they are required to have restrooms only for the help, not John and Jane Q. Public.

Some places like theaters and bus stations are required to have public toilets, according to the state Health Department, but that's about it. Of course, restaurants are going to provide restrooms for their patrons ("Good PR," says state guy), but they aren't required.

Local building departments make the rules for public toilets, and they just don't require gas stations to have public bathrooms. Health departments make sure the restrooms are clean if they're for the public. However, it should be pointed out that a woman recently sued a minimart - and won - when it didn't let her use its bathroom.

Hey Johnston: In the new modern library on the Eastside (Bellevue), there are no seat-cover things in the bathroom. This is almost the only modern building that doesn't have them. How come?

ANSWER: Don't you just love the toilet theme of this column? We weren't able to reach anyone at the library, but here is what the Seattle/King County Public Health Department had to say about toilet-seat covers: They probably do absolutely no good whatsoever.

Matter of fact, the flap part may act as a wick and DRAW WATER FROM THE TOILET! That will get you to straddle the toilet seat.

Hey Johnston: My husband wants to know where to get your salmon hat. Second, can you tell me why people in the Seattle area, particularly on the Eastside, like to make diagonal (instead of perpendicular) left turns and nearly take your front bumper off?

Answer: The hat comes from Surprise Gift Baskets in Woodinville (486-5235). They can order all sorts of hats for that special Father's Day gift. Cost is around $15.

As for your second question, we grew up here, so we are used to weird driving. But one of our readers had this to say about local driving habits:

This place has the worst drivers I've ever seen anywhere in the country except for Boston! So, it's not the Californians that are driving weird, it's the people here! I thought you'd just like to know that. Thank you.

How to Just Ask Johnston: This column appears Tuesdays and Thursdays in the Local News section of the Eastside edition. Leave your questions about any aspect of Eastside life on Steve Johnston's voice mail at 464-8475. Or write: Just Ask Johnston, c/o The Seattle Times, Suite 100, 10777 Main St., Bellevue, WA 98004.