Early Sunday morning, well before the Pride Parade kicked off, I got a phone call from Rocco Termini, who put a bug in my ear. He said that he felt that any time a street was being closed off to traffic and parked cars, it’s a no brainer for the City to run street sweepers. He’s right.
After the conversation, I strolled over to Elmwood to take a look around. There were no cars in sight, but there was plenty of litter and trash. With no cars on the street, it would be the perfect time for a street sweeper and sprayer to make a few passes up and down the avenue. And if community members were given advance warning, they could participate by sweeping the sidewalk debris into the street, to then be swept up by the cleaners.
We’ve held street cleanups before on Elmwood, and other streets. The toughest part of conducting the cleanups is coordinating with the City, to ensure that everyone is on the same page. Maybe we have been doing this backwards? If the City would clean in advance of the Marathon, Pride, and other events, the community could chip in (with advance warning).
These types of major events draw people from all over the region, and even around the country. They warrant these types of coordinated cleanup efforts. This past Saturday, I found beer containers in the planters, spin-bins filled with garbage, and strewn litter in the street, and on the sidewalks, with zero cars on the street. I couldn’t believe that we missed such a golden opportunity to effortlessly clean a street that was in dire need of cleaning.
This same practice could be applied to streets all over Buffalo, whenever there is a street closure for a parade or festival or race. Not only is it the sensible thing to do, it also demonstrates that we take pride in our city’s outward appearance.