LAFAYETTE, La. — When you think of Mardi Gras, you're probably thinking of beads, floats, and throws — but those aren't the only things occupying the streets!
According to Lafayette public works, you'll find 132 portable toilets, 18 of those being accessible restrooms, in 32 locations along the city's parade route. The returning contractor of these porta-potties is Broussard-based Potty Girl.
Since 2015, Potty Girl CEO and former Wall Street worker Deborah Young says it's been her business to take care of your business. The goal? To give women and children a clean, safe, and colorful place to "go." Still, it's something that takes nothing short of a hard-working team that isn't afraid to get dirty.
"There are families that need to go to a restroom in the middle of a parade, they're sitting there sometimes for hours so they need a safe place to go to," says Young. "It's a man's business, there was a few competitors and I had to start from scratch because I had never been an entrepreneur."
Matthew Goodwin is the lead route driver for Potty Girl. With the company for the last three years, he tells me while many may not be interested in doing a job like his, he doesn't mind.
"This is very important, this is like THE most important next to the parade," Goodwin tells me. "Being a route driver is like being a firefighter like, man, somebody gotta get in there and save those people."
Goodwin tells me Mardi Gras season is the messiest time of year. From cans and bottles, to beads, and even teddy bears, he says there's always a need for him and his team. That's why after each parade at 2 a.m., his crew hits the streets, oftentimes working double-shifts to clean your commode.
"Some might say it's disgusting, but somebody's got to do it," he says.
But stocking the streets of Lafayette isn't something you stumble upon. Getting the job takes a lot of work, as there's a lot that goes into bidding for the bidet. In a nutshell, Streets Superintendent Steve Viator with Lafayette Consolidated Government says the idea is for the bidder to get the most bang for their buck, while giving the city theirs.
"It's a bid that lasts for a whole year once you're awarded the contract with an option to renew for a consecutive two years under the same terms," says Viator. "It can be some tough competition, but Potty Girl's been the contractor since they started."
Either way, the work gets done, so there can be good, clean fun for everyone. After all, you can't spell "parade" without "P." For a look at this year's porta-potty locations along the parade route so you can plan for a quick escape, see the map below. Laissez les bon temps rouler!
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