“City pedestrians navigate around piles of trash and recycling that take up significant sidewalk space,” Garcia said. “It is time to make smarter, more efficient choices when it comes to the way New Yorkers set out refuse and recycling for collection in the public right of way. Thursday’s announcement is the first step in that direction.”
Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg also agreed that sidewalks are for New York’s long-suffering pedestrians, not for garbage.
“Allowing eligible BIDs to experiment with installing sealed, on-street garbage and recycling containers will help make New York’s bustling sidewalks cleaner, more accessible, and more enjoyable for residents and tourists alike,” she said.
Trottenberg and Garcia hinted at the most important part of the news — that garbage will finally inconvenience drivers instead of walkers. But one booster put the focus where it belonged:
“The Clean Curbs program … will make it much easier to pilot shared waste storage in the parking lane,” said Clare Miflin, founder of the Center for Zero Waste Design.