Northwood News ♦ June 2005

County Council Votes to Return Trash Cans to Parks

By Carole Barth

There’s good news for park users and residents living near County parks.  The County Council voted to fund the return of trash cans to county parks in the FY 2006 budget.  Trash cans should begin to reappear this summer.  It is interesting that it took a concerted effort by a coalition of civic associations (including Northwood-Four Corners) to bring this about, even though Park and Planning now admits that the “Carry-in, Carry-out” (CICO) program did not actually save money.  Thanks to all of our residents who sent letters or emails and who signed petitions.  Special thanks is owed to Jennifer Chambers of Indian Springs who organized the Coalition effort.

However, there is still work to be done on this issue.  The Council gave Park and Planning the discretion to decide which parks would get trash cans and which would remain CICO parks.  One would like to think that North Four Corners Park will definitely be getting trash cans, since we have testified many times about trash problems in this park.  Moreover, North Four Corners Park was listed as a problem park in the report analyzing the CICO program.

However, it never pays to take such things for granted.  Just before the Council’s decision, the Director of the Parks Department called me to ask whether the Coalition to Return Trash Cans still existed, because he was under the impression that concern about this issue had died down.  (He called me because, when I testified, I gave out copies of the Northwood News that included an article on the Coalition.)

Therefore, we will need to keep following this issue until the trash cans are back.  If you want to help out, send an email [contact details redacted] and I will add you to the park mailing list.  That way, if we need to generate calls/letters/emails over the summer, I can let you know.  (This is also the list for any developments in the facilities planning process for North Four Corners Park.)   ■