Two years ago saw the grand opening of an unusual addition to our highways: a pedestrian bridge which crosses the Beltline. My family and I ventured out that day to take a stroll over this new bridge; a bridge which provides a nice, safe connection from the city’s greenways to the parks outside of the Beltline.
The view from the bridge could be improved, however. From that vantage point you can not only see six lanes of traffic zooming under you, you can view the trashiest spot in Raleigh. From the pedestrian bridge south to the Hillsborough street overpass is the messiest, trashiest stretch of road you’ll find in the entire city. A bridge overlooking trash is probably not what the N.C. Museum of Art had in mind when it offered its land for the project. I would venture to guess the trash from two years ago is not only still there, it has grown ever since.
That small stretch isn’t the only trashy spot on the Beltline. Keep an eye out and you’ll begin to notice spare tires here, busted drywall there. Plastic bottles are everywhere. This morning I narrowly missed a pair of steel chairs standing in the median just outside of the travel lanes. Judging by their mangled state I was not the first to encounter them. This doesn’t even consider all the trash too small to see from 65 MPH, like the thousands of cigarette butts that litter the roads.
What can Raleigh do about this trash? Not much: it’s a state-maintained road.
Raleigh is home to our state government. Our governor, legislators, and department heads all work here. Raleigh’s Beltline is its de facto Main Street (the new Fayetteville Road revitalization notwithstanding), and yet its constantly trashed. How can we let this happen? On top of the recent study showing that the Triangle contributes in transportation taxes far more than it receives from the DOT, it can make one wonder if our state government really cares about us.
Granted, the DOT is sponsoring a Litter Sweep in April where concerned citizens can “pitch in,” but should that really be necessary? Why can’t the state keep Raleigh’s Beltline clean?