Spotted a clever fix at the Austin airport last week

I was waiting for my gate at Austin-Bergstrom and noticed they put those little rubber floor mats right where everyone stands in line. You know how the carpet always gets worn down in those spots? Well, they just swap the mats out instead of replacing the whole carpet. It's such a simple idea, I can't believe more places don't do it. Has anyone else seen little maintenance hacks like that in public places?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_sandra1mo agoTop Commenter

Wait, are those mats actually anchored down or do they shift around when people shuffle forward? I feel like at my local grocery store they tried something similar with those rubber runners but they just bunch up and become a tripping hazard... I wonder if the airport uses some special kind of adhesive or if they're just heavy enough to stay put. Seems like it would be worth the extra step to glue them down, otherwise they'd just be a pain to keep straight all day.

ray3241mo ago

Yeah I read somewhere the airport actually tested different mats for months before finding ones that don't slide around, @the_sandra.