Ames, Iowa — The Iowa Department of Transportation (I-DOT) is in the running for a national award for its initiative to make traveling easier for people with disabilities. The DOT is in the second year of a four-year plan to put adult changing tables in all restroom facilities at rest areas throughout Iowa. Their efforts have been recognized by America’s Transportation Awards, and they are in the running for a $10,000 prize. If the Iowa DOT wins, the money will be donated to the Arc of Iowa’s Changing Spaces Campaign. The money will help raise awareness and help further their goal of getting adult changing tables in restrooms throughout Iowa and not just at rest stops.

In a social media post, the Iowa DOT said mentioned comments by a woman named “Jenny,” who is the mom of two medically complex children. She wrote, “I just wanted to say THANK YOU !! I live in SD, and was traveling home from vacation in Kentucky with one of my sons, and had to stop to use the restroom on I-29, south of Council Bluffs. I was absolutely thrilled when I saw the adult changing table symbol of the rest stop sign – and beyond excited to be able to change my 15-year-old son, without laying him on the bathroom floor or finding a quiet outdoor space! If every rest stop everywhere had one of these, what a life changer that would be!”

Michael Kennerley is the Director of the Design Bureau for the DOT. He said that being nominated for this national award is helping raise awareness for the necessity, which he believes is a true benefit because it can spread the design to other states and cities.

Anyone can vote online for the Iowa DOT’s adult changing facilities, and people can vote multiple times throughout the day.