Raleigh-Durham International Airport to build new restrooms for four-legged travelers

The firm hired to design two new bathrooms at Raleigh-Durham International Airport will need to decide if the artificial turf floor will include a bright red fire hydrant or something else that might appeal to a dog.

RDU has hired EVOKE Studio Architecture of Durham to design special restrooms for pets and service animals. Known in the airport business as Service Animal Relief Areas or SARAs, the rooms will be located in the passenger concourses of each terminal.

RDU has designated areas outside each terminal where service animals can relieve themselves. But the Federal Aviation Administration now wants commercial airports to also have them inside, beyond the security checkpoints and close to the gates. The FAA wants to improve conditions for passengers with disabilities, but SARAs are open to non-service animals as well.

The FAA has certain requirements for the rooms, says Jaymes Carter, RDU’s vice president of building and building systems. They must be wheelchair accessible, have water and a place for doggie bags and room for a dog on a five-foot leash.

They also must have a “three-dimensional prop,” Carter said, something a dog might lift a leg on. Red faux fire hydrants are popular at other airports, but Carter said he’ll wait to see what the designers come up with.

Airports have taken different approaches to creating SARAs. Some are nothing more than patches of astroturf set off from passenger walkways by plexiglass. RDU wants its SARAs to be discrete, out of view of fellow travelers, Carter said.

“Just like we go to the restroom, the animals should be able to go to the restroom without everybody watching,” he said. “We’re trying to conceal it as much as possible.”

The SARAs will go in currently vacant spaces next to Gate C7 in Terminal 2 and Gate A7 in Terminal 1.

EVOKE has until the end of the year to design the rooms, estimate what they will cost and prepare specs to put out to bid. RDU hopes to award a construction contract next winter and open the SARAs in June 2024.