I talked this over with a few people at Pedal for the Pantry yesterday. The upstream walkway on the West End Bridge is a hot mess. Garbage, car parts, beer bottles, broken mirrors, you name it.
I plan to arrive around 9:00 this coming Sunday on the south side of the bridge to clean it up. I will bring the following:
- 1 push broom
- 1 regular broom
- 2 flat shovels
- box of contractor trash bags
- cardboard boxes
- 1 wheelbarrow to get it all there
- and any other rakes or implements of destruction that I find in my garage.
I plan to park my truck on the street in West End and push the wheelbarrow full of tools to the walkway.
If available, the following would be amazingly appreciated:
- extra helping hands
- access to a dumpster or somewhere that we can dispose of the car bumper that has been in the walkway all winter.
If I don't find a way to get rid of the car parts, I'll pile them behind my garage (classy!) until I have a better idea. Or if anyone wants the bumper for a bumper bike, stop by on Sunday.
PM me with questions since I'm not on the boards much these days.
pinky
2014-04-06 17:33:07
Great idea! I'll try and be there to help clean up. I don't often use that bridge, but the few times I have it has been a real mess.
I also think a gas powered leaf blower would make for quick work if anyone has one - we'll just have to be careful of wind direction so we don't blow a dust cloud across the traffic lanes.
marko82
2014-04-06 20:56:23
Re: car parts, there's a junkyard quite proximate to the WEB that probably wouldn't even notice an additional bumper or 2. Render unto Caesar that which is Caesars, and whatnot.
edmonds59
2014-04-07 05:29:55
You could also take the car parts to the dump on Hoffman Road in Reserve Twp., which is about 5 minutes north of downtown. I've taken a lot of yard debris, demolition debris, trash, etc. there over the years and the cost has always been more than fair.
An even better idea might be to contact the mayor's office or whoever's council district that is and see if you could use a city dumpster. From everything I have seen the current administration is very engaged and responsive, and may well be able to help.
Thanks so much for doing this!
jmccrea
2014-04-07 07:31:18
Update - as of this morning, someone else picked up some of the trash, including the car bumper.
There's still lots of trash, glass, and other pieces of mirrors to keep us busy.
Marko, if my husband tags along, we'll bring our gas leaf blower. I can never get the effing thing to start. It frustrates me enough that it'll end up going for a dip in the Ohio.
pinky
2014-04-07 09:26:06
I ride in across the WE bridge too but I use the downstream sidewalk. It has some glass on it but is relatively clean. Also, this route avoids the stairs on the north side of the bridge.
I come into the west end on Main St and take Alexander up to Steuben. I ride the shoulder on Steuben down to point where the new ramp is located where I cross over to the other side of Steuben and get on the sidewalk. That sidewalk leads to the downstream WE bridge sidewalk. Once across the river the sidewalk goes under the bridge and exits in front of the ramp off of Route 65. I cross at the light there and ride mostly sidewalk over to the Science Center (Western Ave to Fulton to Fontella to Reedsdale and finally to Allegheny Ave) where I get on the north side trail.
I may stop down for the cleanup on Sun.
sean
2014-04-07 09:46:08
Barring unforeseen trouble, I will show up to help, too. Likely on bicycle and toolless, but I've done this before, a couple times.
stuinmccandless
2014-04-07 15:31:22
I'll be there too. Bike-less with broom!
rustyred
2014-04-07 21:32:16
Broomless with bike.
mick
2014-04-09 14:39:15
I may bring a gride. What's a gride, you ask? It's that thing on the left.
Yes, you may groan now.
stuinmccandless
2014-04-11 11:46:51
I'll be there without tools.
renny
2014-04-11 13:04:19
Thanks everyone SO MUCH for your help! We picked up tons of trash, sand, glass, and assorted gross. The entire upstream sidewalk is now clear, including the crosswalk in the West End Circle, and the ramp from the bridge to Western Ave is clear.
This is what it looked like near the Circle:
Here's the final pile:
pinky
2014-04-13 11:40:54
Thank you Pinky, Pistat, Stu, RustyRed, and Marco! You folks did a fantastic job. That sidewalk looked wonderful when you finished.
srpit
2014-04-13 18:39:14
Outstanding \ I rode the pedal pantry with Your group (Ron )
There should be a scheduled clean up such as this every month .
Nice to see things get done with no red tape !
cowchip
2014-04-13 23:01:53
A few more pictures, from my Twitter and Facebook posts. btw, both Mayor Peduto and Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith are aware of our work, via Twitter. The southern end of the bridge is in K-S's district (District 2).
Twitter 1
Twitter 2
Twitter 3
Facebook 1
Facebook 2
Facebook 3
stuinmccandless
2014-04-14 21:35:50
Thanks to all who participated in the clean-up. I didn't know about it, but when I crossed the bridge 2 times in the last week, I was surprised.
I commented to fellow riders about how "someone" must have gotten the city to do the job - ha! I should have known it was a far better consortium of do-gooders. Much appreciated.
teamdecafweekend
2014-04-28 13:59:54
