Bradley Plans Attack on Trashy City Streets With 500% Boost in Spending

Garbage-strewn streets and alleys in Los Angeles were targeted for cleaning by Mayor Tom Bradley Thursday as he announced plans to increase money for street cleaning by 500%.

Standing in front of mounds of rotting trash and debris in a Watts alley, Bradley said he wants to allocate $2.6 million for 75 new Bureau of Street Maintenance workers to handle the approximately 6,200 requests for street cleaning the bureau receives each year. Another $1.9 million would be spent for a variety of street maintenance equipment.

“There is nothing more important to neighborhood pride, to the quality of life for the people who live there than to know that their streets and their alleys are going to be clean,” Bradley said.

Bureau of Street Maintenance Director Patrick Howard said two seven-man crews now try to clean all of the 6,800 miles of streets and 800 miles of alleyways once a year, but cannot do so on the bureau’s current budget of about $500,000.

The annual cleaning differs from the regular weekly street sweeping in that blocked passageways and sewer drains are cleared, abandoned cars towed away and graffiti on public property is covered. Such cleaning, once a high priority for the mayor, was drastically curtailed after passage of the property-tax-slashing Proposition 13 in 1978, Howard said.

In addition, he said, some “problem areas” on the Eastside and in South Los Angeles have to be cleaned up to 15 times a year because residents and businesses illegally dump rubbish in alleys.

“As soon as we clear an alley, some one will dump some debris there the next day,” Howard said. Currently, workers may not respond to a cleaning request for a week or longer and alleys can get so cluttered with discarded furniture, abandoned cars and trash that “you can stand at one end and not be able to see the other,” Howard said.

Under Bradley’s proposal, which must be approved by the City Council, five additional seven-man crews would be dispatched to handle “problem areas” and respond to resident complaints. Fifteen two-man crews would also be added to the normal cleaning cycle. Howard said he expects to be able to handle all complaints and clean all surfaces “at least” once a year.

Bradley’s request for equipment would be used for 15 trash loaders, six trucks and other equipment, Howard said. Orders are already being placed to allow work to begin as soon as the budget is approved.

But Bradley, along with 8th District Councilman Robert Farrell, stressed that the city can do only so much, and if area residents really want clean streets, they will have to chip in and help.

“We’re going to do our share, but the one thing I would ask now is that the community help us in this effort,” Bradley said. “If you don’t throw your garbage and your junk in the alley in the first place, there won’t be a need to send out a crew to clean it up.”

Illegal trash dumping is a misdemeanor and fines can go as high as $1,000, Howard said.