The City of Dallas has decommissioned its neighborhood cleanup programs, necessitating the intervention of other local entities to pick up the slack — and the trash.
Stepping into that void is the Metroplex Civic & Business Association (MCBA). The local business organization recently launched its own Adopt-a-Block program, enlisting area businesses to help clean up the city, as reported by The Dallas Express.
MCBA’s version of Adopt-a-Block involves a local business “adopting” a block of the city and taking responsibility for keeping it clean.
“If the City is not taking charge of this [and] keeping our roads and streets and sidewalks clean … it’s our community, it’s our responsibility at the end of the day,” Louis Darrouzet, CEO of MCBA, told The Dallas Express. He noted that it is important to keep the city clean because, for businesses to succeed, Dallas must be attractive to patrons and consumers.
“We want a city where people can be successful and thrive,” said Darrouzet. “The Adopt-a-Block program is just one of the many things that we’re doing to make Dallas better.”
Ashford Inc. was the first to adopt a block through MCBA’s program. Company employees cleaned along Lemmon Avenue on the east side of the Dallas North Tollway. This area falls into Dallas City Council District 14, represented by Council Member Paul Ridley.
The City of Dallas did have initiatives intended to foster community involvement in the city’s cleanliness at one point: through its Adopt-A-Block and Volunteer Graffiti programs, both seemingly in effect as recently as 2012.
Melanie Banks, a Dallas City Hall spokesperson, confirmed that the two programs are currently inactive. However, she was unable to illuminate when they were retired or why that was the case.
Whatever the reason, it appears that keeping Big D clean is no longer a priority, as the City has allowed these volunteer programs to fall by the wayside.
A recent survey by The Dallas Express found that Dallas residents are unhappy with the amount of trash and litter strewn about the city streets and roadways. Similarly, a City survey showed that 44% of respondents believe the City does a “poor job” of maintaining clean streets.
In a statement sent to The Dallas Express in July, public information officer Ashley Guevara acknowledged the survey results, stating, “Although satisfaction is relatively low for street cleaning, this category, based on resident responses, was not ranked as a high priority for the City.”
While Dallas has neglected to focus its attention on the issue, other cities in the area like Fort Worth, Grapevine, McKinney, and Frisco have programs encouraging citizens, businesses, organizations, and other entities to commit to clearing litter from the streets and sidewalks in their communities.
The Dallas Express contacted the City of Dallas for further information regarding its decommissioned cleanup programs but did not receive a response.
The Dallas Express additionally reached out to Council Member Ridley for comment on the state of cleanliness in District 14, where Ashford adopted its block. Ridley was also asked what he and his fellow council members are doing to address the insanitation in their districts or, failing that, why cleanliness is not a priority.
The council member’s office was not immediately available for comment.
Disclaimer: Ashford Inc.’s chairman is Monty J. Bennett, the publisher of The Dallas Express.