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Once again, litter and shaggy grass becomes civic topic number one — a perennial favourite

August 9th, 2012 · 95 Comments

It must be summer when not-so-young men’s fancy turns to talking about litter and city maintenance. I hate to sound like an old codger here, but do you know how many rounds of complaints bout this I have heard in my almost two decades of covering the city.

With stunning regularity, there are uprisings of grumbling about wheatfields growing on city boulevards, overflowing trash cans and the like. Pretty much always in the summer, when things grow more and there are people out and and about than usual.

I must be very unobservant, because the city doesn’t seem any dirtier to me than usual. We here in the east side have our usual complement of abandoned mattresses and furniture, no more, no less. The grass is growing to harvesting height on the boulevards, as I have seen it so many times before, especially in crunch years when money is tight.

And yet, we seem to have a squadron of people out saying it’s all a lot worse than it used to be.

May I acquaint you with some history, culled from the 1,000-plus stories on the news database with the words “Vancouver” and “litter” (which hit a high point in 2008, with 72 stories on same just in that year, though admittedly some involved kitty litter) or “Vancouver” and “poor maintenance” and a few other combos.

Vancouver needs a good spring cleaning; A city’s cleanliness speaks to the pride of its residents, and controlling litter is an aspect of urban life we can do something aboutGeller, Michael. The Vancouver Sun [Vancouver, B.C] 16 Apr 2009

Woman says yes we can solve street litter problem; She did the job herself after city refused to install garbage bin in KitsilanoEustace, Chantal. The Vancouver Sun [Vancouver, B.C] 30 Apr 2008

Without anti-litter law, streets becoming dumps, resident says: [North Shore Edition]Bohn, Glenn. The Vancouver Sun [Vancouver, B.C] 20 Jan 2000

Crusader urges clean sweep of litter:: [Final Edition]Fralic, Shelley. The Vancouver Sun [Vancouver, B.C] 14 Apr 2005

An idea to end the litter: [Final Edition]The Province [Vancouver, B.C] 23 June 1996

Let’s get behind a spring makeover of our litter-prone city: [Final Edition]The Province [Vancouver, B.C] 15 Apr 2005

Litter rally to clean up this town, literally: [Final Edition]The Vancouver Sun [Vancouver, B.C] 24 May 2002

Litter-filled beaches a disgusting sight: [Final Edition]Carsky, S. The Province [Vancouver, B.C] 11 Aug 2000

Don’t blame homeless for messy parks: [Final Edition]Gregson, Ian. The Vancouver Sun [Vancouver, B.C] 30 Mar 1998

Taking back the neighborhood: Wet condoms and dirty syringes litter the school yard. Predatory johns and drug dealers roam the streets. Addicts shoot up in broad daylight. Finally, Strathcona residents are fighting back with neighborhood patrols: [1* Edition]Sarti, Robert. The Vancouver Sun [Vancouver, B.C] 25 Apr 1992

Parks department to review field maintenance: [Final Edition]The Vancouver Sun[Vancouver, B.C] 26 Jan 2005: B2.

COQUITLAM – After years of complaints over poor field maintenance …

 

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