More new construction, Same old trash

All over Surrey are signs for new development and new construction.

Accompanying these signs is always the ubiquitous dumping and trash that will only increase once these properties are full of residents.

As I walked down 64 Avenue around King George Boulevard, property after property had signs for Panorama development and dumps of construction worker vests, measuring tapes, workboots as well as the always present children's toys, plastic jugs, bags of clothing and plant pots.

Once development is finished the leftovers of realtor signs, balloons, ribbons and flyers spread out from these sites like a ugly rash across Surrey.

Once I get into my own neighborhood, the construction sites are smaller, but even more trashy. Workers casually toss aside their fast food containers and cups, cigarette buts and packaging, as well as many other items which are not construction related. The scattered litter and garbage is an eyesore and  gets blown to other properties by the wind.  Sites which do have fencing, seem to have free reign to fill it with pizza boxes, drink cups and fast food trash.

Construction buckets and jugs of mostly empty liquids, face masks, tar paper, roof shingles, nails and everything else gets tossed aside, both on their property, on adjacent properties and on the street. We all know construction sites are messy, but garbage should not blow through the streets and I should not have to step over dangerous materials on the sidewalk or streetside.  Hazardous substances should not be entering our waterways because of this careless behavior.

Stricter compliance to the unsightly property by-laws for businesses and contractors should be enforced. I feel building sites should not pass building inspections if they are in violation of the unsightly property by-laws on any of their properties or holdings.

We need to eliminate this bad habit of tossing litter on the ground.
Spread the word. Keep Canada Clean.

Unsightly in Surrey

I went to see a part of Bear Creek that no one pays much attention to, but I got distracted by garbage... the creek will have to wait.

Surrey's  By Law 16393 - Surrey Property Maintenance and Unsightly Premises defines "Unsightly" as follows.

(a) the accumulation of junk, filth, litter, brush, discarded materials, refuse, rubbish, garbage or graffiti;

(b) fences characterized by holes, breaks, rot, crumbling, cracking, peeling or rusting;

 (c) landscaping that is dead, characterized by uncontrolled growth or lack of maintenance, or is damaged; 

(d) a lowering in quality of the condition or appearance of a building or structure or parts thereof characterized by holes, breaks, rot, crumbling, cracking, peeling, rusting or any other evidence of physical decay or neglect or excessive use or lack of maintenance; or 

(e) any other similar conditions of disrepair and deterioration regardless of the condition of other properties in the neighbourhood. 

Around 130 Street and 86 Avenue plenty of  Unsightly property is available to view.

Oil jugs, milk jugs, mattresses, fast food litter, dumped household trash and more.

Not even Gurdwara Sahib Dasmesh Darbar can avoid the trash that accumulates.

So does it matter?  Should I care how other people keep their properties? Should I just mind my own business and also turn a blind eye to it all?  After all, I don't live in this exact neighborhood, I don't frequent the gurdwara or this truck lot photographed back in Dec. 2011 (it's still a mess).

I've decided it does matter.

Garbage has become normal scenery at these businesses. Employees who work at these businesses come home to my neighborhood and practice the same careless littering and trashy habits that make my neighborhood unsightly. All of us practice willfully ignoring the litter we see on the streets. The worshipers I see walking to the gurdwara past these properties choose to ignore the trash. Once they come home they continue to ignore the trash in front of their own house. The fish and oceans suffer because of  the run off from the truck parking lots. The trash and scattered food provides food and nesting areas for the rats that scurry through our streets at night. I could go on about the negative effects on our community and society, but everyone already knows all of that, right?

The Unsightly property pictured here at 128 St. and 96B Ave. is actually city property. It is not out in the middle of nowhere. I drive past it a lot.

People walk past daily, yet weeks and months go by and the trash accumulates. No one wants to play bad guy or go through the hassle to call the city and report infractions. Most people don't want to confront their neighbours.

I ask very little of my community. Pick up the garbage in front of your home, learn how to drive safely and respectfully, don't lie, cheat or steal, don't cuss and fight out on the street and don't abuse your wife or children. Other than that, I would prefer to leave everyone alone to do what they want.

I'm tired of Surrey's image as Vancouver's cheap ugly sister. I want things to change on the west side of Surrey, and this by-law isn't doing the job. There has to be a better way.

Sometimes I just have to look up and take a deep breath.

Then I ask myself, what can I do to make this better?

Next week I plan to be agitating for the cleanup of the beginnings of Bear Creek which runs between 84 and 86 Ave. on the west side of Surrey. Hopefully it will be as successful as the other waterways cleanup that got done in 2012. More info here.

Some of you may choose to report an Unsightly property you know about. You can call the by-law department at 604-591-4370,  Click here to report a problem on the city website, or download the city's  Service Request App for your smartphone. You can also Twitter #litter #SurreyBC at KeepCanadaClean with your pictures.

By Law 16393 - Surrey Property Maintenance and Unsightly Premises
2.1 No owner or occupant of property within the City of Surrey shall permit or allow the property to become or remain unsightly.
2.2 No person shall place graffiti or cause graffiti to be placed on any sidewalk, wall, building, fence, sign or any other structure or surface.
2.3 No owner or occupant of property within the City of Surrey shall cause or permit water, rubbish or noxious, offensive or unwholesome matter to collect or accumulate around the property.
2.4 No person shall deposit or throw bottles, broken glass or other rubbish in any open place in the City of Surrey.

Now is the time to Spring Clean Surrey.