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# Going No. 2 in comfort
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/going-no-2-in-comfort/
- Published: 2008-04-01T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T19:06:16.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Crime, Santa Monica Airport, #archive-import

*CITY HALL Taking a stance has never been easier.*

*By IRON MAN I Daily Planet Staff Writer*

The City Council on Tuesday agreed to a plan that would widen all city-owned bathroom stalls to allow visitors to take a wide stance while doing their business.

The plan came on the heels of Sen. Larry Craig’s arrest for lewd conduct in a public rest room at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on June 11, 2007\. Prosecutors alleged that Craig tried to solicit homosexual sex from an undercover police officer, but Craig said that the misunderstanding stemmed from his practice of taking a wide stance while using the rest room.

A number of city leaders, sympathetic to the senator’s situation, discussed making a move to avoid a similar situation occurring in Santa Monica. Councilman Richard Blume, who himself utilizes the wide stance technique while using bathroom stalls, introduced the plan late last year. Following a number of closed session meetings, councilmembers agreed that widening stalls would be the best remedy to avoid a similar misunderstanding.

“We just want people to feel comfortable when using the city’s bathrooms,” Bloom said. “I sure wouldn’t want a similar fate to befall me when I’m innocently using the rest room.”

City crews will begin the necessary renovations this week. The entire $1.3 million plan should be completed by summer, which is the peak of the tourism season.

The initial phase of the project requires city crews to measure existing stalls and draft plans that would accommodate the new, wider stalls. The current average stall is 40 to 48 inches wide. The proposal would add an additional foot to each existing stall.

“We felt the new measurements will allow bathroom users to feel comfortable enough to take the necessary stance to accomplish their tasks,” said Councilman Bobby Shiver, who doesn’t take a very wide stance himself but feels empathy for those that do. “If this prevents just one misunderstanding, we’ll be more than satisfied.”

In an effort to go green, city officials have also agreed to eliminate all toilet paper from city bathrooms. In addition to the wider stalls, crews will be installing bidets in all rest rooms operated by the city.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 1, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/040108.pdf?ref=smdp.com)