Austin getting trashed out (Barton Creek, Hutto: homes, neighborhoods, construction)

[oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots]

Originally Posted by mimimomx3

I wonder why the homeless people don't pick up their trash? I've always wondered about that- I would be more predisposed to give them money if I saw that they were picking up litter, especially their own.

Dang! The homeless that panhandle have fulltime jobs! They don't have time to pick up trash!

Just talking about the panhandlers now...I'm NOT lumping ALL homeless into my statements.

[atxcio]

Originally Posted by mimimomx3

I wonder why the homeless people don't pick up their trash? I've always wondered about that- I would be more predisposed to give them money if I saw that they were picking up litter, especially their own.

I could be wrong, but wouldn't a homeless person generate a lot less trash than a typical resident? It's still wrong for them just to throw it anywhere... but I'm just thinking, it's probably not possible for them generate the huge amount of trash most of us normally do. If they are buying booze in a can, that can is pretty likely to get recycled. And when people are looking at the homeless "camps" where they actually live... well, a lot of that trash is probably their "stuff".

I think just like it's always been, the trash being thrown out of cars is the worst contributor. Or people with pickups throwing trash into their truck beds, then it blows out. Just one offender that does a lot of driving can really contribute to the problem. That stuff ending up on the streets always gets washed into larger debris piles and ultimately into the creeks, just like rainwater.

[mimimomx3]

Originally Posted by oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots

Dang! The homeless that panhandle have fulltime jobs! They don't have time to pick up trash!

Just talking about the panhandlers now...I'm NOT lumping ALL homeless into my statements.

Oops- sorry, you are right. I meant panhandlers. Not all panhandlers are homeless, and not all homeless are panhandlers. The panhandlers I see are just standing there. Why not pick up some trash while they're at it? At least their own trash would be nice.

[sxrckr]

I think this is more of a problem on major highways that go through multiple cities and states. People passing through town who don't care. And people who don't secure their load properly.

[wehotex]

Originally Posted by mickey65

Actually Texas is a whole lot cleaner than California. Take a drive around the Bay Area and you'll see nothing but garbage everywhere in certain parts of towns, the side of freeways, etc.

Yes. I'd agree with you on that one. I just got back from the cesspool LA and saw trash everywhere alongside the freeways! Texas has long had a marketing campaign to not litter ever since the early 70s when I was a kid here and accelerated in the mid 80s with the "don't mess with Tex" campaign.. Native educated Texans take pride in keeping their state clean. at least i've always thought that to be the case.

[atxcio]

Speaking of panhandlers...

Today, along the 360/Mopac intersection, I saw a first (at least for me) -- A panhandler on a cell phone. He had his sign in one hand, and was yapping on the cell held in the other. I am not kidding. I couldn't help but wonder if he was on the phone with another panhandler -- maybe comparing yields at their respective intersection. Anyway, I couldn't believe it. Did he really expect someone to hand him a dollar for food while he was burning up the cell minutes he obviously could afford?

[Weatherguy]

Some observations I've been making:

1. At many intersections where there are panhandlers, their trash is all over the place. Braker at I-35 is a good example. This morning I noticed the same thing at Anderson at Mopac, although not nearly as bad.

2. Trash blowing out of pickups and refuse haulers illegally transporting trash without a tarp contribute a large percentage to the litter problem.

3. Fast food joints and convenience stores often have trashy parking lots. When the wind blows, their trash ends up off-property. Grocery stores are a big problems in this respect, too. Any time I see that happening, I complain to the managers, who almost always apologize and make sure their parking lots get cleaned up.

Although this thread is about Austin, the comments on California are interesting, in that I've noticed the same thing. Due to decisions made by the CA populace and legislators, there is little budget for "non-essentials" like anti-litter programs and cleanup. It's a real shame, in that the state of CA has such natural beauty.

The last time I was in Arizona, which was 8 years ago, the stretch of I-10 from Phoenix to Tucson was wall to wall garbage. In Texas, the interstates and other highways are trashy, but what I saw in AZ was totally baffling (talk about a state with incredible natural beauty, though).

I'm concerned that Texas is headed the same way due to cutbacks on anti litter efforts. Maybe it will have to get really, really bad again before people will get as angry as they did in the 80s.

[CareFreeAZ]

Originally Posted by brubaker

smart growth (something Oregon as a state has that we do not)

Everyone has this false idea that Portland is at the forefront of smart growth due to establishing an urban growth boundary, implementing good public transportation and trying to make everything bicycle friendly. Speaking as a Portland native who left in 1994 and goes back to visit quite often, the major freeways/roadways have not changed with the times to accomodate the growth. Public transportation is very good but traveling by car on some of the major thouroughfares(especially the I-5 freeway through the city) is slow going most any time of the day. Highway 26 still has no hov/commuter lanes and many city streets that were not wide to begin with are much narrower with wider bike lanes(including painted box areas in the front of the lane where bikers can be ahead of the cars when the signal changes).

Oregon's govenor in the 70's Tom McCall had a popular slogan among Oregonians which was aimed at Californian's, "Visit, but don't stay "Come visit us again and again," McCall said for Drinkwater's national audience. "But for heaven's sake, don't come here to live."

[FueledByBlueBell]

Bull Creek Park befouled by trash

[Weatherguy]

Originally Posted by FueledByBlueBell

Bull Creek Park befouled by trash

I saw this article in the paper today. Sickening. It's completely disillusioning that Austin has been inundated with such slobs that are ruining our city. First, we hear about the Barton Creek greenbelt, and now this.