Spring Clean Week downtown is April 17-21
Monday, April 17, 2017
It’s 8am on Monday morning and Downtown Spokane Clean Team Lead, Natalie Love, has already covered four city blocks, erasing the debris and leftover food containers from a rowdy downtown weekend. “Looks like people had a pretty good time,” says Love.
The Clean Team is a program of the Downtown Spokane Partnership, who are contracted by the City of Spokane to manage the 80-block area known as the Downtown Business Improvement District. Businesses and properties inside the BID pay an annual assessment to cover supplemental services, such as litter collection, in public areas.
In 2016 the Downtown Spokane Clean Team collected 3,889 bags of garbage from sidewalk cans and removed 323 pieces of graffiti. Those are just two small items of work for a team that takes pride in keeping our city sidewalks clean and beautiful for residents, workers, and visitors.
Clean Team members can also be found maintaining planters, spraying for weeks, sweeping sidewalks, clearing ADA ramps of snow in the wintertime and sometimes offering recommendations for their favorite downtown breakfast spot, “I always recommend the Satellite,” says Love. “There’s nowhere else like it.”
As spring approaches and downtown prepares for thousands of visitors for everything from the Pink Ribbon Run to Hoopfest, the Clean Team works hard to get the core ready.
But the mighty Clean Team can’t always keep up with the demand from busy weekends and large events. Sometimes they need an extra helping hand. In 2016, the DSP launched “Spring Clean Week” as an effort to get the word out that downtown belongs to everyone, and to create an awareness of who the Clean Team are and what they do.
This year, prior to Earth Day celebrations, Spring Clean Week is April 17 through 21, each day of the week will focus on a different emphasis area, and on Friday volunteers are invited to help “Spiff the Block” between 11:30am and 1:30pm at two locations; Sprague between Stevens and Washington and Monroe at between Broadway and Summit Parkway.
Businesses, workers and residents are invited to participate by collecting litter in emphasis areas throughout the week, and stopping by on Friday to enjoy the community activity and grab a bite to eat for their time. Litter bags can be found at the DSP office. “Often, individuals are willing to spend a day cleaning up a visible space, such as Riverfront Park,” says DSP President, Mark Richard. “We are asking Spokane to take pride in all of downtown, all year long.”
Business can stay involved throughout the year by helping prevent litter and graffiti in the first place. In 2016, downtown coffee shop, Spaceman Coffee, encouraged customers to bring in their own mug and get coffee at a discount. “Of the top ten items littered, nine of them are food-related,” says Richard. Richard also encourages business owners to contact the Spokane Police Department for CPTED Assessment. CPTED is the practice of using design to promote safety in and around your business. “Something as simple as a well-lit alley has shown to be effective in deterring vandals from tagging walls,” says Richard.
Workers and citizens can help by making a pledge to be aware of litter on sidewalks, in planters, parking lots and other public spaces all year long, and by helping pick it up. “Sometimes we just need help,” says Love. “This year as the snow melted there was a lot garbage under it. That really slowed us down.”
Volunteers interested in helping to “Spiff the Block” can sign up to participate via Spokane Gives at www.volunteerspokane.org/spokane-gives, under opportunities registered by Downtown Spokane.
About Downtown Spokane
The DSP is a private, non-profit membership organization that serves as Spokane's central city advocate and service provider, dedicated to enhancing the quality and vitality of Downtown Spokane as the basis for a healthy region. The DSP accomplishes its mission through advocating for public policies, business and project development, quality planning, physical improvement projects, public safety, beautification, and marketing programs that ensure downtown's continued success. To learn more, visit www.downtownspokane.org.
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