GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — On the newly-repaved Ann Street, where to put trash and recycling for pickup appears to be an uncertainty. On the curb? On a driveway? What about the parking lane? How about the bike lane?
A recent drive down the Grand Rapids street revealed a number of trash and recycling carts, as well as yard waste bags, in each of these places, with homeowners seeming to have different opinions on what's best for them and those with whom they share the road.
"I wouldn't know if I lived here either," said Jack Warners, a Grand Rapids resident who bikes on Ann Street during his commute to work. "I'm not saying, 'Do it this way.' I don't know what the answer is."
Warners says he's tried to get an answer from the city for "two solid years." He's contacted the Grand Rapids Public Works Department, Mobile GR, called the city's customer service line and reached out to number of city officials, but hasn't been given any guidance.
"I get it, people are busy," he said. "But we're spending a lot of money on [repaving the road] and then, as soon as it's done, we forget about it."
"There's simply not a good system to keep it clear and safe," he said. "If we don't follow up, then it seems like a waste."
The Ann Street construction, which concluded this fall, resulted in a new road surface, two raised and separated bike lanes and a raised and separated parking lane on the street's south side, along with other improvements to safety.
Grand Rapids Public Works Director John Gorney says trash carts on Ann Street — and everywhere else in the city, when applicable — are supposed to be placed for pickup "in the curb lawn or parkway area," which refers to the grassy space in between the sidewalk and street.
This isn't an option for some homeowners, though, due to the steep slope of their curb lawn.
So, then what?
"I think we have to be flexible," said Gorney, adding that driveways and streets (which can include bike and parking lanes) are often used as second options for pickup and, in some cases, may be more accessible.
"The city's been collecting trash for well over a hundred years," he said. "Where's that happy medium?"
A homeowner will not be fined if they place their cart for pickup in a parking or bike lane, but they may lose service if they permanently store it on the street.
"This is a temporary situation," Gurney said about carts that may impede the paths of cyclists. "The cart is out for collection. It's collected. It's put back."
The City of Grand Rapids has not yet given guidance on how to handle trash and recycling on the newly-configured Ann Street, though Gurney says "there needs to be communication."
"It's a shared space," he said. "We'll work with the residents and get the information out there as best we can, but we have to be mindful of each other while we're out there."
With "follow up," Warners believes there's an opportunity to open up Ann Street to more in the city.
"I think it's easy to look at cyclists and think it's about them," he said. "But it's a lot more about the people who would take advantage of the street if it were safer and more inviting."
