Wow, that picture really is worth a thousand words. Many residents have posted on here about safety issues with this park. Does Malden have a plan for addressing this?

The portajohn needs to be removed from Cotyemore Lea. I saw sketchy looking guys going in and out of there several times over the summer. I had to call the police for public drinking in the park more than once. I try to avoid bringing my kid there.

Hopefully the folks at city hall can figure out a way to sustainably address this. There must be some strategies already employed by other cities with similar situations.

Please for the love of Benji get rid of the port-a-john. While it is supposed to prevent (in theory) little kids from needing to urinate in the park itself, the safety concerns, the stench and the fact that it is an attractive nuance for vandalism totally outweigh the benefits.

And yes I have to call the police several times to report public drinking and pot smoking in the park (with a thank you to the Malden Police by the way....they always showed up within a couple of minutes) and have found empty alcohol bottles and used prophylactics on the ground and in the bushes.

I will speak to the DPW director about the pot-o-john. The Police have increased patrols of the park and have been extremely responsive to any calls from myself or residents. We will continue to work to rid the park of this type of trash and those that utilize these types of products.

Jim Nestor
Malden City Councilor, Ward 4

Thanks Jim....and please everyone, make it known that if you see some bad or criminal activity the in the park, please please PLEASE call the police. They will come by...often within five minutes or less.

Hi All , The portable toilet was cleaned today and is schedule to be cleaned weekly by contract. I have instructed the company to remove this toilet for the remainder of the season which will be done by next week. Also the Malden Police have been notified about these findings today. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me anytime.

Thanks

Bob Knox Jr.
Director
781-397-7160

Thanks for fixing this issue!

Removing the toilet is a good band-aid, but presumably the underlying problem will remain and the behavior will return when the toilet does. Are there things we can do to help folks make better decisions when they're tempted to behave this way in public facilities? Dan Ariely is famous for this kind of behavioral research and conducted some experiments where mirrors were used to manipulate behavior. A moment of reflection -- literally -- was sufficient to affect decision making for the better. This is just an example. There must be other ideas. Perhaps posting an addiction helpline number inside the port-a-john wall?

HI Josh, thank you for the ideas. The City of Malden has been installing new cameras around the City through the efforts of the Mayor, City Council and the Malden Police Department. This should help with concerns like this as well as looking into different options on the portable toilet locations and a possibility of locking them when parks are not in use. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me anytime

Thanks

Bob Knox Jr.
Director
781-397-7160

Thanks, Bob. I appreciate all the effort around this.

Thanks for fixing this issue!

The park has been under video surveillance for a number of years now. I like the idea of the posting. I will speak to local substance abuse councilors about additional thoughts on how to curb this behavior.

Jim Nestor
Malden City Councilor, Ward 4

Thanks for your efforts, Jim. Being proactive might be more effective than reactive in this situation.