j_cuevas713 Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 I'm posting this in Going Up! because it's the most looked at page on HAIF. We're all proud of our city after hosting such an incredible event. Now that it's all over, it's time to hold our city accountable in keeping our streets clean and repairing any parts of infrastructure such as our sidewalks, etc. So I'm creating this post encouraging all of us here on HAIF to email the city if we notice areas that have been neglected or are unclean. I recently wrote an email to the Midtown Management District concerning the trash and homeless setting up small camps under 59. After emailing the MMD, I received a quick response and was told the email was also forwarded to the head of the district as well as the city. It wasn't long before I saw a couple of crews head to my neighborhood to clean up the trash. Now it's not perfect, mostly because I believe repairs to Richmond are about to begin, but the city seemed to have a sense of urgency to fix the problem. I don't want this city to fall back to not caring about it neighborhoods. I'm tired of trash in this city. I'm tired of overgrown lots. I'm tired of construction crews leaving remnants behind in the form of orange signage and sandbags. What we saw over the past 10 days is the city we know Houston is! I know we all love this city on this forum or we wouldn't watch it's ever growing move. It's time we start to act as Houstonians and show the city we want real change. With technology literally at our fingertips, if anyone notices something, take a quick pic, and send it to whatever district your in along with location. I started doing this on my walk from work back to my place, and it works! The city actually wants our input. Let's do it HAIF! http://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/gray-matters/article/The-Super-Bowl-s-gone-Now-can-Houston-do-its-job-10914443.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitter1 Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 What can we do about cigarette litter? Smokers (not all smokers) do not use ashtrays. You can provide a smoker with an ashtray, but the smoker will flick their butt into the street, grass, etc. http://www.dontmesswithtexas.org/about/litter-facts/ Quote LITTER FACT #3: The most common forms of litter are food/organic material, cigarette butts, and small pieces of paper—receipts, gum wrappers. LITTER FACT #4: 71% of litter consists of microlitter that is not easily seen on roadways, such as cigarette butts, straws, and gum wrappers. LITTER FACT #5: Tobacco trash is the most common form of litter found on Texas roadways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 Something that confuses me about Houston is that in other cities, street sweeping occurs on specific days and you have to move your car so they can clean the gutter, where most of the litter will accumulate. I've watched the street sweepers here, and they do go to the curb when there aren't parked cars, but that's rarely the case, at least around apartments in downtown and midtown. And the middle of the street doesn't get nearly as dirty because traffic and rain will keep it relatively clear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitter1 Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 For living situations, the more you pay the less cigarette litter you'll find. I noticed the majority of new construction luxury apartments have a no smoking ordinance policy. Too bad the middle class doesn't get smoking ordinances. Hard to be in a shared community (apartments) with half of the residents smoking and littering all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbates2 Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 I have never understood why we only clean trash along freeways like once a decade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KinkaidAlum Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 I have never understood why Texans are so damn trashy. I see people liter all the damn time. I've yelled at people and almost gotten myself killed after watching people picnic at Hermann Park and literally just get up and walk away from all of their trash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skooljunkie Posted February 8, 2017 Share Posted February 8, 2017 3 hours ago, cspwal said: Something that confuses me about Houston is that in other cities, street sweeping occurs on specific days and you have to move your car so they can clean the gutter, where most of the litter will accumulate. I've watched the street sweepers here, and they do go to the curb when there aren't parked cars, but that's rarely the case, at least around apartments in downtown and midtown. And the middle of the street doesn't get nearly as dirty because traffic and rain will keep it relatively clear Wait. We have street sweepers? (street sweeping is a topic of conversation that makes my blood boil in this city--it's a simple maintenance task that could solve so many more problems) I do know some management districts contract sweeping, and TxDOT sweeps the freeways quite regularly actually even though they become trashy quickly....but as for the rest of the city, I'd bet most roads have never been swept in my lifetime. It is easy to become complacent when there are so many other issues like roadside urban ditches and crumbling infrastructure. However, so many issues could be resolved if we did sweep regularly: inlet clogs could be prevented, more standing water could be eliminated, curb appeal would increase, cyclists would be safer by not having to dodge sandbars and rocks, and our shoes wouldn't get so damn muddy just from crossing the street. I mean, geez, at a minimum it seems we could at least sweep each major road in the city a couple times a year. All the griping aside, I did see more street sweepers out the week prior to the Superbowl than in my whole life here in Houston--but again--it's only on certain roads. I have heard through the grapevine that the City has begun sweeping major roads on the SE and SW sides, but I've yet to hear or see any official documentation on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted February 8, 2017 Author Share Posted February 8, 2017 42 minutes ago, skooljunkie said: Wait. We have street sweepers? (street sweeping is a topic of conversation that makes my blood boil in this city--it's a simple maintenance task that could solve so many more problems) I do know some management districts contract sweeping, and TxDOT sweeps the freeways quite regularly actually even though they become trashy quickly....but as for the rest of the city, I'd bet most roads have never been swept in my lifetime. It is easy to become complacent when there are so many other issues like roadside urban ditches and crumbling infrastructure. However, so many issues could be resolved if we did sweep regularly: inlet clogs could be prevented, more standing water could be eliminated, curb appeal would increase, cyclists would be safer by not having to dodge sandbars and rocks, and our shoes wouldn't get so damn muddy just from crossing the street. I mean, geez, at a minimum it seems we could at least sweep each major road in the city a couple times a year. All the griping aside, I did see more street sweepers out the week prior to the Superbowl than in my whole life here in Houston--but again--it's only on certain roads. I have heard through the grapevine that the City has begun sweeping major roads on the SE and SW sides, but I've yet to hear or see any official documentation on that. Hell yeah, let it all out lol... I fully agree! I'm so serious that I'm about to start carrying a broom, sweep up corners with dirt, take a pic, send that to the city and tell them to pay me asap. How is it we notice these minor things in our neighborhood but the city of Houston somehow "misses" these things??? I just sent another email to the MMD to show areas of concern. I saw wires hanging from an electrical pole, which can't be safe. We have to enforce what we want. I've been with this forum for 16 years, and I have yet to really see where leaving things for redevelopment somehow lifts the responsibility to provide basic infrastructure and cleanliness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted February 8, 2017 Share Posted February 8, 2017 13 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said: How is it we notice these minor things in our neighborhood but the city of Houston somehow "misses" these things? You have to remember that the city is just a bunch of people, and they only know what they can see with their own eyes or what is told to them by workers & the public. I suggest that we start reporting cracked sidewalks, standing water, and excessively dirty streets and ditches to 311. It's an app now so it should be easy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitter1 Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 Smokers. Can I type out a stupid and nonsense rant? Nevermind I deleted it. Cliff notes: I like a clean surface. Litter is terrible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted February 9, 2017 Author Share Posted February 9, 2017 12 hours ago, cspwal said: You have to remember that the city is just a bunch of people, and they only know what they can see with their own eyes or what is told to them by workers & the public. I suggest that we start reporting cracked sidewalks, standing water, and excessively dirty streets and ditches to 311. It's an app now so it should be easy I agree. I sent a nice long email with pictures to the midtown district today. I'm doing this all year until things change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skwatra Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 They do street sweeping 4 times a year on major roads, and weekly downtown. I saw them on W Gray last week, which is listed as done on "Feb, May, Aug, Nov" so maybe this is still accurate: street sweeping schedule But agree they don't make people move their cars and miss the dirtiest areas by the curb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitter1 Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 Rant deleted. Not everybody is a clean person. Some people live like slobs!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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