Davila presents plan to fight litter in Springfield's Forest Park neighborhood

Date: 3/29/2023

SPRINGFIELD — Ward 6 City Councilor Victor Davila said the plan developed to clean up litter in the Forest Park neighborhood could be a model for the rest of the city.

After several months of work, his volunteer committee released and discussed the plan at a press conference in the City Council chambers on March 21.

The points of the plan include:

Hire a director of litter control to oversee the plan
Launch a sustained citywide anti-litter media campaign
Create and distribute anti-littering educational materials for property owners
Implement trash cans in main pedestrian arteries and at all bus stops
Improve the street sweeping program
Expand bulk sticker accessibility
Obtain a commitment from the state delegation to increase the Massachusetts Department of Transportation budget to curb litter on highways in Springfield
Improve 311 user experiences across all methods
Promote neighborhood council engagement in the “Good Neighbor Handbook”
Increase Parks Department budget to maintain city terraces
Implement a dog waste cleanup and mitigation plan

Davila said members of the neighborhood “looked at the issue and said we’ve got to do something.” He added litter in his neighborhood is “a critical issue.”

Committee Chair Erica Swallow said one of the problems is litter cleanup falls under several departments, including the department of Public Works for the streets and the Parks Department for grassy areas.
She added, “One of the biggest issues we saw was at bus stops.” She explained that while the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority is responsible for keeping bus stops, many of the stops do not have trash cans.
Of the city’s 107 terraces only about 30 are actively maintained, Swallow added. She said a budget of $40,000 should be established to service all the terraces.

Davila said, “In order to be successful we must have the cooperation of residents and businesses.”

Davila said he has notified Mayor Domenic Sarno about the proposed program and added he believes the city has the funds to pay for the program. He admitted there has not been a budget or a timeline established but added that would be worked out with the mayor’s involvement.