If you thought Winnipeg looked worse than usual, now that the spring melt has revealed the accumulated trash and dirt on streets and boulevards, you are right.
Winnipeg’s litter situation has become slightly worse over last year, according to Take Pride Winnipeg.
The local clean-up charity organization grades the cleanliness level of the city’s streets each year, and awarded the city an average score of 2.24 out of four – up from 2.17 in April 2018.
A one on the scale represents no litter, while a four means extreme litter.
As part of the annual litter index, Take Pride measures the cleanliness of different areas of the city.
In this year’s survey, the downtown area had the best rating, with a 2.0 score, compared to a high of 2.63 for the West End.
Maryland Street from Ellice Avenue to Portage Avenue, Sherbrook Street from Portage Avenue to Cumberland Avenue, and Empress Street from Ellice to Wellington Avenue were the worst streets in the lowest-ranking neighbourhood.
“There are some streets there that just really were not looking good,” Take Pride executive director Tom Ethans told 680 CJOB.
“Maryland, Sherbrook, Furby, and Empress, which is one of the worst streets in the city.”
Ethans said he’d like to see anti-littering laws enforced more often.
“There has been one or two cases of people who have got fined, and had to pay a fine for littering,” he said.
“I’d like to see it more frequently, because we need people to understand that when you litter, it’s not good, and there’s a consequence to everything. The consequence for littering is that it makes our city look bad.”
Winnipeg areas from cleanest to dirtiest, according to Take Pride’s rankings:
- Downtown: 2.0
- Transcona: 2.09
- Fourt Rouge/Fort Garry/Lindenwoods/Waverley Heights: 2.11
- Northeast: 2.13
- St. Boniface: 2.14
- North/Central: 2.14
- St. Vital/Southeast: 2.25
- West: 2.27
- South Fort Garry to St. Norbert: 2.3
- Northwest: 2.39
- Southwest: 2.42
- West End: 2.63
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