Bangor woman raises safety concerns over trash, needles near apartment

BANGOR, Maine (WABI) - Laurie Savageau has lived in her Hancock Street apartment for nearly a decade and a half and says trash and safety concerns around the complex have gotten worse in recent years and months.

“As I was driving to work last winter, you can look down when the leaves are gone and you can see down to the river. And there was like piles and piles of trash,” Savageau said.

Resident describes encounters, drug use

Savageau said she loves living in Bangor but called recent instances scary.

“It’s hard because I do love it here. I love my apartment. I have great neighbors. I’m close to work. I’m close to my son and daughter-in-law and grandson. But, it’s a little scary, too, because of these instances happening,” she said.

In recent months, those instances included an encounter with non-tenants blocking the path to her apartment entrance late at night. This summer, she said she saw what she believes was open drug use on and nearby her complex’s property.

“A lot of people coming on the property that don’t live here, stashing shopping carts, trash, clothes, needles, personal hygiene wipes, fecal material in the bushes, and more drug use,” Savageau said. “It is not every homeless person, and I have nothing against the people. It’s the actions and the trash and destruction that’s left behind.”

Encampment cleanup

Last December, a homeless encampment along the railroad tracks near Savageau’s apartment was cleared. CSX, the railroad company that owns some of the land, cited public safety as the driving force behind the cleanup.

Piles of trash can still be seen along the tracks.

In a statement Wednesday, CSX said cleanup efforts from last winter continued this summer.

“At CSX, the safety of our employees and the surrounding community is our top priority. Our crews began cleanup and remediation efforts in the Bangor area last December and again this summer,” the statement said. “We have been made aware of these recent concerns and are planning additional cleanup and remediation efforts.”

CSX said railroad rights of way are active, hazardous environments and entering railroad property without permission is illegal and can result in serious or fatal injury. Members of the public may reach out to the CSX Public Safety Coordination Center at 800-232-0144 to report illegal dumping and trespassing near the railroad.

Turning to city council candidates

Savageau said she reached out to CSX multiple times, as well as to the city, but felt no one was taking her concerns seriously until she began speaking to candidates for City Council this year.

For the first time in years, Savageau said she is turning to the polls to have her voice heard.

“I feel like Bangor has so much potential. It is a beautiful spot. And it needs a different direction, I feel. And I reached out to a few different candidates and had some discussions with them. And I liked what they had to say. So, I decided this year, I am going to vote because I want change. I want Bangor to be the city that it could be,” she said.

The city has not responded to a request for comment.