Buffalo Rising Online

I don't think the NFTA, our transportation authority, should have the responsibility of asking people to not liter.

I understand the need for some measures at their stops but the underlying problem is why do people think it is 'ok' to throw their trash on the ground in the first place. Social pressure (like his note) or police enforcement need to step in here because even if there are trash cans the attitude that exists now means that few would use it.

How about we get the police to actually start to fine people... get the work out that and people would be less willing to risk a ticket. But that means getting the police to actually do something. Don't get your hopes up there. I think Bills note probably has the best chances of changing things.

It is and it isn't their responsibility.

One would assume people would have enough common sense not to throw their crap on the ground. But, I know that common sense - is often - not all that common.

If a simple sign helps, then so be it!

I live on this very block.... (near that bus stop) -- and pickup litter in front of my house that blows in my fence and my front yard all the time. WTF is wrong with people. I will sit on my porch and watch people come from Just Pizza or Wilson Farms thru the Just Pizza lot and eat their pizza and throw the box on the ground or open their candy from Wilson Farms and just chuck it. It's sad that people have to do this. Especially when it's trash day and there's blu cans everwhere someone can just lift the lid and toss their garbage into. That's especially frustrating.

*shrugs*

Thank Bill for helping to keep yours and my block cleaner!

On a side note... has anyone ever driven down Bailey between UB North & Kensington? Holy S**T!!!!! It's litter central!!!! Do people not give a damn abou where they live?

@sbrof: It's not like it's their "responsibility" necessarily, it's just that a simple sign, saying something like "Littering not only harms the environment, but the image of your neighborhood. Use the provided trash receptacles and help keep Buffalo clean. - A message from NFTA" would be very simple, relatively affordable, and a little bit of prodding that might mean the difference between something ending up on the ground or in the trash.

Good freakin grief, again with the "it's the police's fault" and again with the they don't do anything.

sbrof: 'How about we get the police to actually start to fine people... get the work out that and people would be less willing to risk a ticket. But that means getting the police to actually do something.'

A day after two Buffalo cops risk their lives on the East Side chasing a gun wielding thug while sbrof slept soundly so he has energy to type lies in blogs about Buffalo police never doing anything. And a few days ago, something similar on the West Side, resulting in injuries to two other Buffalo cops who were chasing, capturing, and arresting two suspects carrying a weapon and having a previous warrant.

The 3 arrested will likely be right back at it on Buffalo streets very soon, making more work for the police who sbrof says never do anything. In a city where soft-on-crime judges routinely set free human trash after wrist slaps over and over when Buffalo police keep arresting the same ones over and over because the public and city judges don't have the stomach to keep more people in jail... now sbrof says it the police's fault that there's real trash sitting in a bus shelter.

Pathetic.

flyguy is right about the littering issue.

But also there should be a trash bin near a corner like that where a lot of people walk by. The picture shows there's plenty of room next to the light post, or attached to the light post as done in a lot of places in the city.

If cops walked the beat, and gave tickets for little quality of life crimes, like littering, loud noise, public intoxication, drinking in public it would take away the feeling that people can get away with anything. If I can litter, I can mug someone, if i can mug someone I can kill someone else.. The cops only come running when there is a shooting involved. Maybe if some fear of punishment were instilled into youths as they were growing before they got into major crimes they wouldn't.

Sure I know the cops go and risk their lives every day, but the apathy to everything but a shooting causes much of the lawlessness.

Sbrof - The Buffalo Police claim that they do not have the staff to respond to burglaries and other crimes in a timely manner, imagine how much they would complain if we asked them to get out of their cars and walk the streets.

I will buy a trashcan for this bus stop if it will help to solve this issue. If you figure the amount of time and energy that the neighbors spend on picking up trash everyday, a $12.00 trash can shouldn't be that hard to justify.

A garbage can would help, but so many people just litter b/c they don't care. The metro stop at utica/elmwood (next to the city parking lot behind mode) is the same way. Tons of trash. I'll bet if you put a can right in the shelter half of the people would still throw it on the ground.

It isn't the responsibility of the NFTA to clean up their bus stops? Of course it is, just like it is every shop owners' responsibility to clean up the area in front of their stores, shovel their sidewalks, etc. They own the bus stops and it is their customers that are causing the problem. It is not the responsibility of the Buffalo police to fine people for littering. Let's be rational about this, they have more important work to do than writing tickets for jaywalking and littering. It isn't difficult or expensive to put trash cans at every bus shelter and I am sure the rate hike can cover it.

it's always bothered me that there are no trash can't near these bus stops. even more bothersome is how people don't care about their city and litter at will.

The residents living here in Black Rock regularly clean up litter from the street, the bus stops, and the park at Amherst and Niagara. We do this as we realize it is not realistic to expect the city or the NFTA to clean up the entire city.. Taking responsibility for the place you live is the only way to make a difference. Two of my neighbors have purchased and maintain garbage cans at the bus stop and playground. Most people use them but a few are just plain lazy. Fast food litter thrown from cars exiting the 190 seems to be the biggest problem.

^ exactly, they can find the staff to pull votes or protest a wage freeze and made a huge impact on the illegal parking that people have taken for granted for years int he city. Blitz littering for 3 months... They have plenty of staff the problem is 30% of them don't pull their weight and earn the large amount of money they get paid.

It isn't like we are asking them to do anything extra.. this is illegal and hurts the whole city by lower property values or keeping the perception that it is a dirty place. It is time to fight back at the systemic problems as much as the results (violent crimes)

Giuliani showed that by attacking these small, quality of life crimes that they will shift the attitude of criminals and fewer overall crimes result. It would also finally give the cops some respect by current or prospective home owners that the cops are there for everything, not just to show up after someone was shot.