Bangor is adding a fourth cleaning to its public restrooms’ weekly maintenance schedule after residents shared their outrage over the bathrooms’ poor condition.
The city has faced challenges in keeping the restrooms in good condition in the year since they were installed, according to Parks and Recreation Director Tracy Willette. Problems include graffiti, misuse of the restrooms, and damage to the hand sanitizer and toilet paper dispensers.
Bangor’s decision to add an additional cleaning comes two weeks after the Bangor Daily News reported residents’ complaints about the bathrooms’ unsanitary conditions and lack of supplies. Additionally the BDN reported that people had found needles inside the restrooms and that police have responded to two nonfatal overdoses in the restrooms so far this year.
The city’s four 24-hour public restrooms are located in Cascade Park, Coe Park, Abbott Square on Harlow Street, and at the intersection of Broad and Washington streets. Until these permanent structures were installed last summer, all of Bangor’s public restrooms were located inside city buildings and only accessible during business hours.
“It’s our understanding that the placement of these restrooms has helped in addressing the need for public facilities, especially in the downtown,” Willette wrote in a memo to city councilors ahead of a presentation on Monday.
“However, it has become apparent that changes are necessary to the management routine,” he added.
Bangor initially contracted with Old Town Public Toilet for three days per week of servicing. That contractor has also been handling repairs as needed.
The city recently decided to increase that schedule to four days per week — Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday — and plans to monitor results over the next few weeks, Willette said. The city may decide to add a fifth day of cleaning per week if necessary, he added.
Portland installed new public restrooms last summer around the same time as Bangor, and added a new unit recently that the city said would be cleaned twice a day.
Lewiston installed bathrooms in fall 2024 with plans to clean at least once a day.
It currently costs $200 per week to maintain the units, according to Willette.
Parks and recreation staff have also incorporated bathroom checks into their daily routines, and public works staff will soon do the same during evenings and weekends, Willette said.
The city originally planned to add a fifth restroom at the Essex Woods dog park in 2024, but still hasn’t put the unit in.
“We have held off on that to get a sense of how the four currently placed went,” Willette said. The city already owns the unit, and while he wasn’t sure exactly when it would be installed, he said he hoped city staff could reevaluate in the early fall.
Out of the four bathrooms, the city has faced fewer challenges maintaining the unit in Cascade Park, Willette said, echoing reports from community members about conditions at that bathroom compared with the units downtown and in Coe Park.