It seems as if every year the Elmwood Village Association (EVA formerly Forever Elmwood) adds a new beautification detail to the street. Some of the details are purely for decor while others are a bit more involved and require community participation. I remember the days when there were no spin-bins, hanging flower baskets, color-coded banners, Green Machines, industrial flower planters, etc. If you look at this photo there is a lot going on that most of us take for granted. Fortunately, Elmwood is no longer alone these days - streets like Amherst, Allen and Hertel are taking note and adding many of the same design and functional elements. Elmwood does (usually) introduce many of the urban elements first, which is why the street was recently tagged one of the Top 10 'Great Places In America'.
So where does a street like Elmwood go once it has been placed upon a pedestal? It keeps on doing the same things that it's been doing - making the street even more ‘walkable’ and introducing progressive programs. Just recently the EVA was awarded $18,480 by The Community Foundation in order to implement an on-street recycling program - the first of its kind in WNY. This is a big step for Buffalo since this program will help to contribute to our 3rd Cleanest City designation. Starting in late July, Elmwood villagers can expect to see eight recycling stations (designed by local artist Larry Griffis) appear on the street with compartments/ports for paper, plastic, glass and aluminum cans. There will also be an awareness billboard flying high above Nektar to tune people into the new program.
Having a program like this is a good start, but in order to keep Buffalo clean it is 1) up to people to not litter and 2) up to the individual businesses to keep their streets and sidewalks clean. I would think that The City might put up some 'No Littering - $500 Fine' signage to make people think before they decide to litter. The more awareness the better. And please, if anyone at the NFTA is listening, why is there no place for bus riders to throw out their garbage before boarding a bus? That's where a lot of the crap comes from to begin with.