SPRAYING A CURB WITH A
HOSE IS A LAME
EXCUSE TO GOUGE
THE PUBLIC TO
CREATE REVENUE
FOR A LAZY, UN-
CREATIVE CITY
GOVT. IT IS A
TRANSPARENT SCAM
AND INSULTING.
SHAME ON
YOU.

The object of this anonymous citizen’s exasperation is street cleaning. You know, the semimonthly occasion when large noisy vehicles spray water and air on leaves, disturb the quiet, then go.

The prelude to this noisome business is the arrival of tow vehicles and flatbed trucks. Those residents still abed or away from their house, who for whatever reason haven’t seen the warning signs, will soon be car-less.

Woe betide ye who, for example, go out of town when the signs go up, as happened to your faithful blogger a few weeks back. My wife, Amie, and I returned exhausted from a huge road trip to New Orleans in the wee hours of New Year’s Eve and parked where we could find a place. None of our neighbors were awake to alert us to the potential of running afoul of the cleaning machine.

Later that morning, Amie went out to unload a car full of Christmas gifts only to discover that our Subaru had been hauled away.

My visit to impoundment revealed that I was not the only person making this wretched journey to the bitterly cold South Richmond auto jail on New Year’s Eve morning. It looked like a used-car lot. And I had the privilege of paying $60 to bail out a vehicle I use twice a week, if that. On New Year’s Eve. Did I say that already?

I am not going to state outright that the present method of street cleaning is wasteful. Nor am I prepared to unequivocally declare that the current methodology of street cleaning here, and elsewhere, is devoid of ethics or good sense. I will note, however, that in Paris, they have people in jumpsuits with brooms and hoses and no beeping equipment, and, importantly, no towing necessary.

You could employ this method and put people to work while making our city cleaner and calmer.

I’ll be making a few calls, to the city’s Department of Public Works and (at the suggestion of John Accordino, an associate professor in VCU’s Master of Urban and Regional Planning Program) the International City Management Association and the National League of Cities, among others, to gain some perspective from the other side of this eternal debate, but for the moment, here’s an assortment of grievances from around the country that tend to uphold the sentiments of the above protester: from Boston; from Chicago, where street cleaning may soon have an added sinister aspect; from Los Angeles; and from Richmond’s own Church Hill People’s News.

I think this last one is particularly pointed, as it seems to validate what I’ve been hearing on the street for some time — that the signs aren’t going out soon enough, and more people are getting caught in the circumstance.

Times are getting tough, city budgets are tighter and one has to wonder if some in city government aren’t taking another look at an old method of generating revenue. I’ll let you know what I find out next week.