BANGOR, Maine — The City of Bangor recently installed two public restrooms after years of requests from residents and visitors. They are located at the corner of Washington and Broad Street downtown and at Cascade Park.
According to the city, these locations were chosen based on public feedback given during three public forums held earlier in the year.
Parks and Recreation Director Tracy Wilette hopes that access to these facilities will allow people visiting Bangor’s many parks and other public spaces to enjoy them for longer.
"Hopefully by the locations we’ve chosen, we start to address the needs visitors have where they're not feeling obligated to shorten a visit or find an alternative," Wilette said.
Director of the Bangor Area Homeless Shelter Boyd Kronholm thinks that these public restrooms could also help the city's unhoused population.
"Now people have a place they can use the bathroom. They don't have to go in between cars and alleyways." But Kronholm also has his concerns. "The bigger issues we had before when they were port-a-potties were people leaving substances and needles in there," Kronholm said.
Wilette says that the city has taken measures to ensure that the public restrooms will be regularly maintained.
"We will be contracting with a maintenance company to come in and check them and maintain them on a regular basis. In addition to that, our park ranger staff and park maintenance staff will be monitoring them as well," Wilette said.
The all-steel construction and openings at the bottom of each restroom were also designed to allow for easier cleaning and monitoring.
The city will be adding three more across Bangor over the next couple of months.
"Our next two, we're going to locate at Abbott Square, which is across from the library in the downtown area, as well as Coe Park. And then our final location will be in Essex Woods near the dog park, bike trails, and walking trails out there," Wilette said.
For Bangor residents like Scilayr Shelton, who has been used to letting people use his apartment's bathroom, these additions are something he looks forward to.
"I really believe that having the public bathrooms would be a great, great thing for the community honestly," Shelton said.