Bangor Public Works used city resources and taxpayer funds on Wednesday to paint a rainbow pride flag crosswalk on State Street.
The city did not announce the politically motivated initiative through any of its official social media accounts, but Bangor Pride, an LGBTQ organization, posted a picture of the work on Facebook.
The Maine Wire stopped by the crosswalk and spotted three city employees standing nearby, apparently waiting for the paint to dry.
The Maine Wire reached out to Bangor Public Works seeking additional details about the project, including how many city employees were involved, how much employee time the project required, and the total cost to taxpayers.
The man who spoke over the phone was not able to provide any details other than to confirm that city employees did paint the crosswalk.
The Maine Wire also reached out for the information via a Freedom of Access Act (FOAA) request.
At first glance, the comments on Bangor Pride’s post appeared remarkably supportive of city resources being used to promote a controversial social issue.
However, an additional comment from Bangor Pride revealed that they had simply been deleting comments that disagreed with the project.
One Facebook user claimed that the crosswalk painting caused traffic in the city.
Similar projects in other cities have proved more expensive than might be expected.
In 2024, South Portland spent $1,650 to fill in three crosswalks with rainbow-colored chalk paint.
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