Austin's trashy highways

[Weatherguy]

As the OP, I request that we keep comments civil.

The purpose of this thread is to discuss the problem Austin has with trashy roadways. This week I will talk to TXDOT and relay concerns I've seen here in this thread.

To forumers, please be sure to provide plenty of examples of the problem. Most of the comments thus far have been really helpful in this respect.

[Weatherguy]

Originally Posted by pop251808

Check out the shoulders of the upper deck on I-35. If you didn't have a flat tire if and when you pulled onto the shoulder, you sure will after you do so, they're a mess.

Do you have a feel for how long it's been since the shoulders were swept of debris?

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by Weatherguy

Yes, at least we don't see bags in trees like we did. But other litter is a big problem. I went through the Parmer/Lamar intersection the other day and it was a mess. Hundreds of cigarette butts, weeds growing through cracks, and miscellaneous trash all around. Much of the problem at intersections comes from transients who leave their trash.

The hundreds of cigarette butts aren't. I'm appalled to see people stopped at lights (those that still have ash trays in their vehicles) dumping the ash trays in the road while they're stopped. I can't imagine what, or that, they're thinking.

I've also seen people throw their drink cups out the window at speed, something I never used to see.

[mesmer]

I can't remember what part of town I was in last week, but I remember thinking the same thing - when did the highways get so dirty? Unmowed is typical in the spring but what I saw was just a lot of trash along the road. It was jarring.

[BJB817]

This thread validates that it's not just my imagination that the litter problem has gotten much worse of late.

One thing I noticed on Mopac south of downtown is that apparently Schlotzky's and The Salt Lick have "adopted" sections, presumably for trash pickup. I'm not sure if they've been out yet or not as there's still a good bit of trash on this section of Mopac, but adopt a highway programs like this should be implemented more widely, IMO.

Perhaps it's been cleaned up ahead of ACL and F1, but a couple weeks ago I noticed how filthy it was on 71 out by the airport. I was thinking maybe if the event goers see all this trash, they won't be so apt to move here. Silver lining on the cloud or something like that...

[Weatherguy]

Originally Posted by BJB817

This thread validates that it's not just my imagination that the litter problem has gotten much worse of late.

One thing I noticed on Mopac south of downtown is that apparently Schlotzky's and The Salt Lick have "adopted" sections, presumably for trash pickup. I'm not sure if they've been out yet or not as there's still a good bit of trash on this section of Mopac, but adopt a highway programs like this should be implemented more widely, IMO.

Perhaps it's been cleaned up ahead of ACL and F1, but a couple weeks ago I noticed how filthy it was on 71 out by the airport. I was thinking maybe if the event goers see all this trash, they won't be so apt to move here. Silver lining on the cloud or something like that...

Our visitors are noticing, alright. A comment I've seen on social media several times in the last year is that for such an environmentally conscious community, Austin sure is unclean. Our F1 visitors last year definitely noticed, based on some Facebook posts I saw last year. I've traveled all over the country and Austin has one of the worst litter problems. Houston and Dallas are much better, and they even keep medians mowed and cleaned much better on city streets. But from what I've observed, their highways aren't much better because TXDOT has such a small budget for cleanup. That's a Texas problem.

I would say Phoenix is the cleanest overall. Portland also looks great. Surprisingly, the last time I was in Seattle, it looked almost as bad as Austin, although a person from Seattle mentioned in another forum that it has been looking better.

One thing that has improved in Austin is that, at least in my part of town, the sanitation crews are more careful to avoid dumping garbage can trash on the streets. That used to be a really bad problem. It took a lot of phone calls to get it addressed, but I think it has happened.

In Austin, there are some one-day cleanups from wonderful volunteers here and there (e.g., creek beds), and those are great, but nothing long term has been happening of much significance.

One thing I will be talking with city leadership about is getting local businesses involved with funding and employee participation (that may be what Schlotzky's is doing). I have some time and would be glad to volunteer to contact businesses. I think that's what's going on in Houston, and it shouldn't be too difficult to find out. For me, one of the first roadways to be addressed would be Burnet Rd through Allandale. Lots of weeds, some trash, and lately a couple of abandoned buildings that are horrible eyesores.

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by BJB817

This thread validates that it's not just my imagination that the litter problem has gotten much worse of late.

One thing I noticed on Mopac south of downtown is that apparently Schlotzky's and The Salt Lick have "adopted" sections, presumably for trash pickup. I'm not sure if they've been out yet or not as there's still a good bit of trash on this section of Mopac, but adopt a highway programs like this should be implemented more widely, IMO.

Perhaps it's been cleaned up ahead of ACL and F1, but a couple weeks ago I noticed how filthy it was on 71 out by the airport. I was thinking maybe if the event goers see all this trash, they won't be so apt to move here. Silver lining on the cloud or something like that...

Adopt a Highway programs have been statewide for more than couple of decades now; the first adopt-a-highway program in the country started in Texas in 1985. But there have to be adopters to step up to the plate. How about getting your place of work to participate?

[ScoPro]

Originally Posted by Weatherguy

Yes, at least we don't see bags in trees like we did. But other litter is a big problem. I went through the Parmer/Lamar intersection the other day and it was a mess. Hundreds of cigarette butts, weeds growing through cracks, and miscellaneous trash all around. Much of the problem at intersections comes from transients who leave their trash.

There's that, plus the numerous workers either throwing trash out of their old trucks or just letting it blow out.
Not to mention the occasional truck moving a load of stuff & having a big bag of trash paper or Styrofoam pellets falling out & littering up the roadside for a hundred yards.
Either they don't realize they dropped it, or just don't care.

Then again, gobs of the ACL (and SXSW) fans from out of town are nasty pigs, and leave a huge amount of trash spread around on the ground.

[cBach]

I've noticed the issue and have pointed it out on numerous occasions.

The source of the problem is a combination of inadequate cleaning resources, Austin's desire to leave nature "as-is", the recent transplants that don't follow "Don't Mess With Texas", and the drought.

Let's follow the ordinary course of things. In the winter and spring time, during normal rainy years there is an abundance of rain which washes most of the trash off the side of the numerous hills. Most of that trash ends up in Lake Austin or Lake Travis in one way or another. Wildflowers bloom along medians and the wildflowers grow such that even if there is embedded trash, the wildflowers "cover" it up.

Once the heat of summer settles in, a high pressure dome keeps precipitation away. During this time, all the grass dies. As standard policy, TxDOT does not cut the grass until about mid June or later, to allow the grasses to "reseed" for the next year. During this time, trash collects.

Sometime in July there is the first "mowing" of the dead grass. Things look good, if barren after that, with most trash "disintegrated" by the mowing. However, shortly after that, litter still accumulates but the grass is very short and there is nothing to hide the grass.

Even one thunderstorm can usually green stuff up and wash some of the litter away, but barring that (remember it hasn't rained significantly since June), there will be an almost unbearable accumulation.

Once the fall rains begin, the cycle repeats.

Now, onto Houston...

In Houston, they get regular summer rains which keeps grass green and growing (unless it is a drought). So, regular mowing occurs. In many cases, the trash is simply mowed over, creating pieces of trash, then the next thunderstorms washes that trash into the various ditches and it eventually ends up in Buffalo Bayou. But the general look is less trash because of this.

For Dallas, they like the sterile mowed look, even in the spring things are mowed down. The irrigate all of their lawns and even the side of roads, so grass is always to be mowed. There also aren't as many trees. Because we don't irrigate medians along freeways, during droughts it looks ugly but during rains it looks pretty.

I created a poll about this earlier but people stated they preferred the "unkempt" look.