Why the City of Baltimore needs to come up with 5000 Trash Cans for the Harris Creek Watershed Residents!

The Harris Creek Watershed (246) Stormwater Plan has now been completed and is waiting the final comment period before seeking Funds to carry out many of the Stormwater Projects identified in the Plan. To develop Success in this Plan,the Community of 17 Neighvborhoods will need to become more involved. This will never be accomplished until there is a Major Cultural Change needed to bring the City of Baltimore and the Residents of the 246 Watershed more together. Input from the Residents indicated that their Number One Concern was the Trash Issue......Trash that was allowed to build up (over many months and possibly years) in the Backyards of the many Vacant Houses in the Watershed Area. This also extended to the many Vacant Lots in the Watershed. Trash Collection that did tahe place at times took on a subculture of its own with the residents being told to place their Trash Bags at the ends of the Alleys to allow the City to pick them up at this location. What's wrong here?   Trash Bags are illegal in the City and are easily broken into by Rats that create Health Problems.

Recently,The Harris Creek Watershed Group was able to convince the City to do a Major Trash Sweep in the Watershed. What was discovered was astonishing to those of us who toured the Back Alleys to find Trash that obliviously was neglected for months. It was not hard to find. It raised the Question of Baltimore being made up of two Cities.....one that got needed Services .....and one that got less Services. Why is this so Important?    One reason is that with this Major Trash Sweep,we were able to see a significant reduction of Trash going into the Baltimore Harbor at its Outlet on Boston Street in Canton......and dropping the hint that if we Clean Up our Strrets in Baltimore in this Watershed....and extend this logic to the other 25 Outlets into the Baltimore Harbor,we may one day soon see a Cleaner and Safer Baltimore Inner Harbor.

 The second reason has to do with Fairness and Justice.....and how we can use this to our advantage. With this Major Trash Sweep,we were able to buy about 500 Tash Cans to replace some of the Trash being put out in Trash Bags..........We think that we can get Citizens (residents) to do more if we can get more Trash Cans (5000 or more). Sure,we can continue to criticize and blame,but here is a chance to perhaps change what has been going wrong in the past....and get off to a fresh start.  We think that the City owes this to the residents of the Watershed for their performance in the past that helped to create many of these mini-landfills in the Backyards.  

       We can be Silent no longer.   We need to speak up   This is a Fairness Issue that can be turned around . We can create a better Community by promoting Justice.    Raymond D.Bahr MD