The Trashing of Grant Park

Is it just me, or has everyone else noticed the large amount of trash in the park lately? Why is this? Maybe it’s due, in part, to the lack of trash cans? I’ve noticed the new dog stations along Cherokee and at the unofficial “dog area” (Kudos to whichever organization provided these—now, if we can just get people to use them!) and the new red “hot coals only” cans, but where are the trash cans? Other than a few near the pavillions and along the paths, there seems to be way too few cans for a 131 acre park.

Grant Park is a public park owned by the City of Atlanta, second in size only to Piedmont Park, yet Grant Park doesn’t seem to get the services Piedmont Park does. Is it too much to ask that the city provide an adequate number of trash cans? The City of Atlanta’s Office of Parks’ Mission statement is...

“To improve, preserve, protect and maintain the City’s parks and public green spaces as a safe and enjoyable enhancement to the quality of life for all residents and visitors to the City of Atlanta.”

I guess in Atlanta all parks are not created equal. So, how can we get trash cans in the park? Maybe the Grant Park Conservancy can hold a fund raiser—I, for one, would make a donation—or maybe we can beg the help of the Arthur Blank Family Foundation, which has a generous history of contributing to Atlanta’s green spaces. In the meantime, how about we all take pride in our park and put to good use the manners our mothers taught us and clean up after ourselves—including cleaning up after your dog.