When city officials envision the downtown convention center, they see crowds of professionals bringing tax dollars to the local economy.

But Natchez resident Carol Guzy sees something else: long lines outside the women’s restrooms.

While looking at floor plans of the convention center on display at the Natchez Visitor Reception Center, Guzy was reminded of a study heard of several years ago.

Guzy said the study found women’s restrooms in large meeting places such as stadiums and auditoriums should outnumber men’s restrooms two to one.

But, the Natchez convention center plans call for an equal number of men’s and women’s restrooms: two on each floor.

&uot;The whole idea of building a convention center in Natchez was for people to have a memorable experience,&uot; she said. &uot;We don’t want their memory to be standing in line waiting to go to the restroom.&uot;

Guzy said any woman understands the need for more women’s restrooms and believes the city should change the plans before construction begins.

&uot;I boxed this off with a bunch of my friends and they all said the same thing – go for it,&uot; she said.

So Guzy took her idea to Ward 6 Alderman Jake Middleton and wrote a letter to the mayor and board of aldermen.

Middleton said he was taken by surprise by Guzy’s concern, but is confident the project’s architects have taken all aspects of the convention center into consideration.

&uot;They know what we’re up against, and they know what kind of business we’re going to do,&uot; he said.

And no matter how many restrooms you build, it is a fact of life that women still end up waiting in line, Middleton said.

Johnny Waycaster, project architect, said while there are the same number of men’s and women’s restrooms, but there are twice as many stalls in the women’s as in the men’s, 20 compared to 10.

Waycaster said the number of restrooms was not decided upon arbitrarily, and designers referred to national planning guidelines and charts.

&uot;It’s not a matter of awareness, because anyone with a spouse knows it’s a problem,&uot; he said.

Also, women’s restrooms take up more space and are more costly to build and equip than men’s restrooms, he said.

Walter Tipton, city tourism director, said the number of restrooms were discussed when planning the convention center.

&uot;I do know it’s better to have more facilities for women and I also know that our architects are well aware of that,&uot; he said.

Depending on how the convention center is managed, Tipton said men’s restrooms could be used as women’s for certain events – an increasingly common practice in large meeting spaces nationwide. And officials do hope to attract women’s events, such as garden club conventions, to the convention center.

&uot;Part of our target market is slanted toward women,&uot; Tipton said.

Switching restrooms may not be that new of an idea to Guzy, who said she has on several occasions seen women sneak into the men’s restrooms rather than wait in line.

And Guzy is not surprised officials said women’s restrooms are more expensive than men’s.

&uot;I really think they’re going to say ‘forget it, it costs too much.’ But it’s worth a try,&uot; she said.

And Nancy Corley agrees. A friend of Guzy, Corley applauds her for thinking of such a detail.

&uot;I think she’s absolutely right, and she’s brilliant for thinking of it,&uot; Corley said.

She too encourages officials to rethink their plans for the convention center now, before construction begins and a change would be too costly or impractical.

&uot;It’s no surprise they don’t see it as a problem, because for them, it’s not a problem,&uot; Corley said of explanations offered by male officials.