If you're a frequent MARTA rider, you know that the restrooms at transit stations are often locked.
Last month, councilman Antonio Lewis asked MARTA interim CEO, Collie Greenwood, why that is. He also asked if there was any racial bias when it comes to which bathrooms get locked, at the latest city council transportation committee meeting.
"My question to you is, are the restrooms in the MARTA stations on the south side of the city...are they open," Lewis asked.
"Our response to the restrooms is the same," Greenwood fired back. "Whether it's the north side of the city or the south side of the city."
Greenwood noted that right now, MARTA doesn't have the personnel required to clean and monitor all the restrooms on a regular basis, and so they had to shut some down. As a temporary fix, Greenwood said there's a phone number posted by every bathroom that customers can call to request that bathrooms be unlocked.
Not to mince words, Lewis reiterated that he thought this was a racial issue.
"To be clear, I think that the restrooms are open in the white areas, and not in the Black areas, and I would like a list of the restrooms that are open in the city of Atlanta."