Two Victoria city councillors, David Thompson and Krista Loughton, will be proposing a new initiative at this week’s committee of the whole meeting aimed at cleaning up the 900 block of Pandora Avenue.
Thompson and Loughton believe that a pilot program making a dumpster available along the stretch of Pandora Avenue could help the streets remain cleaner for longer.
Additionally, their motion asks council to consider an initiative that would see community members paid to clean the street.
The motion they are bringing before the city council suggests that the rapid accumulation of garbage can make some people feel that throwing one more item on the ground isn’t going to make any difference, thus compounding the problem.
“Providing more regular garbage cans is problematic because they cannot contain the larger items, and they are sometimes upended, making the situation worse,” reads Loughton and Thompson’s motion.
Our Place Society staff have proposed to Thompson and Loughton a dumpster pilot project.
This pilot would see a locked dumpster located near Our Place, with a lock that can be opened by staff members, or other delegated authorities.
Community members sheltering along Pandora Avenue could then use the dumpster by finding someone who could open it and loading their waste, which could include large items. The dumpster would then be locked again once the waste was disposed of.
“Having a lock will help ensure that waste is not removed from the dumpster and that nobody attempts to enter the dumpster,” reads Thompson and Loughton’s motion.
“A pilot project could enable City staff to assess this action for longer-term potential, considering safety, effectiveness, cost, frequency of waste pick-up, etc.”
The councillors suggest that this pilot could reduce the amount of time that City staff and VicPD need to spend on the 900 block of Pandora Avenue for cleanups and removal of abandoned materials.
Additionally, the motion will bring the notion of rewarding members of the unhoused community frequenting the 900 block of Pandora Avenue with ‘stipends,’ or payment, to do waste collection and clean up along the corridor.
After consulting with Our Place Society, the councillors say that a $15 per hour stipend for folks to take on garbage collection would be ideal.
The proposed plan would have these individuals sign up daily, with two people per day doing two-hour shifts.
In total, it would cost $60 a day, or $5,400 for a 3-month pilot.
“Having the street community involved in the clean-up on the 900 block has many benefits. When the street community is actively participating in the clean-up of the space, it changes the dynamic,” said Jordan Cooper, Our Place Society, Director of Services.
“Other members of the street community on Pandora are more likely to support the cleanliness of the space when they see their peers doing the clean-up. When the cleanliness of the block is maintained within the community living on Pandora, there is less need for outside resources to attend to clean-up.”
Councillors Thompson and Loughton recommend that city council accept the pilot program to work with Our Place Society to put a locking dumpster on the 900 block of Pandora for a three month pilot period, as well as include stipends for community members to do waste collection and clean up for a 3-month period for a total of $5,400 using contingency funds.
They would like to see these initiatives be accepted by their colleagues and report back when the pilot is complete to determine whether it was successful or not.
These matters will be discussed at the committee of the whole meeting on Thursday, May 1st.
Also on the docket for Thursday’s committee of the whole meeting are spending considerations for this year’s Victoria Day parade and increasing compensation for those impacted by eviction due to redevelopment.
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