The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday approved a $5 million “Clean Streets” plan for sprucing up alleys, sidewalks and other public areas citywide, and devoting at least one day a month to tackling problem areas in each council district.
The city Bureau of Sanitation was given a $5 million budget this year to step up its cleaning services. The department has long picked up abandoned bulky items and trash through an appointment system, in which residents call a hotline or use the city’s 311 cellphone app to schedule service.
A pair of city sanitation crews will work a total of 40 days each month to pick-up trash. Each of the 15 City Council district offices will decide what areas will receive the clean-up each month, while the remaining 25 days will be used for “impacted” areas such as Skid Row.
City sanitation staff and council offices will coordinate clean-up schedules using a shared Google Doc spreadsheet. Council offices will also get statistics in real-time on the status of clean-ups, how much trash was collected and other data.
The program grew out of a $1 million “Keep it Clean” pilot in the 1st Council District represented by Councilman Gil Cedillo. The program resulted in 1,000 tons of solid waste being removed from the district, which includes Glassell Park, Highland Park, Elysian Park, Westlake, Chinatown, Lincoln Heights and MacArthur Park.
The program is in addition to the $3.7 million that was budgeted this year to clean up the Skid Row area in downtown Los Angeles and $500,000 for clean-up efforts in Venice.
— City News Service