PETERSBURG, Va. β Petersburg is working to change its appearance one trash can at a time as the city prepares for the opening of its temporary casino later this fall.
The city considers trash cans left on sidewalks beyond pickup times a necessary evil and often an eyesore, especially when they're supposed to be hidden away.
Jan Nightingale, who visits downtown Petersburg a few times a year, noticed the problem during her Tuesday morning walk.
"The efforts to bring people down here are so worth it, it's a beautiful part of our history and it just looks nice when it's all cleaned up," Nightingale said.
However, she found the visible trash cans uninviting.
"Lots of trash cans out on the sidewalks and it's not inviting," Nightingale said. "I mean it's being revitalized. The old buildings are beautiful and that's distracting."
Jessica Worley, who works in downtown Petersburg, agrees that the trash cans create a poor impression.
"If you are going into a business or restaurant or something like that, it can be a turnoff. Like you don't want to go because there's filth right in front of the door," Worley said.
Tiffany Forbes expressed similar concerns about the city's image.
"Some of the trash cans are full, trash just hanging off, all out of everywhere," Forbes said. "It's not a good look for the city especially with the casino coming."
Petersburg City Manager March Altman said the city has received complaints about trash cans being left out beyond the allowed time limit.
Last week, Petersburg officials visited businesses in both downtown and Old Towne to explain the need to put trash cans away after they have been emptied.
"We're trying to figure out the best way to minimize visual clutter and improving and enhance the appearance of downtown," Altman said.
The cleanup effort comes as the city prepares for a significant increase in visitors. If the Petersburg casino opens with a draw similar to the casino in Danville, that will mean more than 100,000 people a month coming to the city.
"There's going to be a lot of visitors to that temporary casino, a lot of which are going to come into our downtown to eat, and we want it to look appealing to those people so they're going to return," Altman said.
Forbes believes following the rules would improve the city's appearance.
"It just will look better if everybody just followed the rules and put the trash cans back," Forbes said.
Those who don't follow the rules can be cited and issued a fine for failure to put their trash cans away. Because some buildings in downtown and Old Towne have nowhere to store trash cans when they're not out for pickup, the city is looking at the possibility of doing away with individual trash cans and going with dumpsters in some cases.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
π²: CONNECT WITH US
Blue Sky | Facebook | Instagram | X | Threads | TikTok | YouTube
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. To learn more about how we use AI in our newsroom, click here.
