WINNIPEG — It took less than 24 hours for a once filthy back alley to get a miraculous makeover.
On Wednesday the owner of Mayberry Fine Art shared documents with Global News detailing months of complaints to 311 and the city. The concern was about garbage not being collected and much of it being illegally dumped.
RELATED: Fire crews give Winnipeg residents tips on fire prevention
Some of it has since been cleaned up by area businesses, but there is still no clear answer on how business owners can deal with the junk if it returns.
“Mysteriously one of the bins is gone today,” Bill Mayberry, owner of the gallery said.
READ MORE: Illegal dumping, overflowing garbage: Winnipeg business speaks out after months of frustration
“We will continue to call 311, just like we have the last 18 months.”
Global News asked the city again for an on camera interview for the second day in a row, but our request was denied again.
The city said in an email that they can’t speak about the issue for confidentiality reasons, despite Mayberry Fine Art going public with their complaints. And for other people who frequent the exchange district, it’s a story they’ve heard before.
“This is one of our prime centres in Winnipeg. If we don’t take care of it properly, then that’s a problem,” Chris Curpen said.
READ MORE: Winnipeg to crack down on illegal dumping by installing cameras
Curpen said he called 311 for the same reason before ‘First Fridays,’ an art event in the exchange district.
“That’s when all the tourists come around and people in the city come here to go to all the art galleries,” Curpen said.
While the situation has improved for one business owner, Mayberry is hoping that other businesses in one of Winnipeg’s busiest neighbourhoods don’t have to go through such extreme lengths to get their garbage picked up.
“We still have some fire hazards here which we hope to get removed in the next day or so, but thanks to Global. It’s terrible we had to go to this extent to get something done,” Mayberry said.
Comments