Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Mighty ugly trash cans

The new trash cans in downtown Sisters are an improvement over the old ones in a couple of ways: they hold more trash and they're presumably easier to dump.

But they are UGLY. Squat, gray blobs of plastic dotting the sidewalks of Sisters.

Maybe it's not a big deal in the big scheme of things, but they detract from the aesthetic appeal of downtown Sisters. Details are important, especially when you are trying to create a pleasing atmosphere for visitors. Volunteers and city staff work hard to maintain beautiful public spaces. We shouldn't be detracting from their efforts.

Surely there are trash cans that function well, are durable and at least blend in unobtrusively. Let's find some and get rid of the gray plastic blobs.

Jim Cornelius, Editor

1 comment:

  1. Yes Yes Yes ... They are large, gray and ugly. Granted there is a need for efficient waste removal but the choice made in this case is totally out of character for the downtown core. I think if you were to pull merchants in town they would be the first to say “Not at my front door.”

    Jim – If my memory serves me -- I think you wrote a recent editorial, “Action Not Words” that criticized the city for the visioning processes. After this garbage can issue I think you might agree that in this case we should have hired a $30,000 waste can consultant, created a survey, pulled the community and had several town hall meetings. Then we could have branded it as “SistersCanCountry” and we would all be happy!

    Of course you know I support the visioning and branding process but I will agree with you that the powers to be on the waste cans totally missed the mark. You have a couple things right – They are big, hold tons of waste, butt ugly and should be replaced with an alternative container. And yes .... It's not a big deal in the big scheme of things.

    Todd Dow

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