Cheltenham Township Ward 2 Commissioner Dwight Pedro Lewis is hoping to remediate what he calls “blight” in the township.
While touring Cheltenham during the election season earlier this year, he says he noticed an excess of unsavory elements: Abandoned cars, dilapidated homes, illegally parked vehicles, fallen trees, illegal dumping, standing water, hazardous structures, graffiti on traffic signs and bridges, and, of course, trash.
“I’ve been here 23 years and there were parts I had never seen before. I was surprised to see so much blight in Cheltenham,” Lewis told Glenside Local. “That was it. I said, ‘I need to do something about this.’ We choose Cheltenham because of the cleanliness. The bushes, trees, and flowers. What we chose is not what I see. You have to love where you live. Love is an action word. We love Cheltenham, but we are not going to endure blight.”
In response, he says he went to work raising awareness and “tested the waters with commissioners during township meetings.”
“It appears all of our commissioners and staff are on board. I spoke with some residents, and everyone was excited. That was the first step. Next, I developed a plan. Its goals go from short- to middle- to long-term. I met with township staff, including the manager,” Lewis said, noting that his vision calls for more than one day of action and extends beyond Ward 2.
“I don’t think this is a one day, one week, one year kind of thing. We have to clean up Cheltenham, and we have to sustain it. There are many stakeholders: The residents, the businesses, PennDOT,” he said. “Our road islands are terrible. PennDOT owns them and we have to hold them accountable. Everyone has to be held accountable. If we have to put more teeth to the enforcement, we’ll look at that. That might be fines.”
“I think it’s an infrastructural, environmental, and socioeconomic issue. Who wants to invest in our community if we have crap everywhere?” said Rhonda Genzink Isser, who manages the Cheltenham Infrastructure Solutions Facebook page. “It’s not just about aesthetics.”
Isser noted that Commissioner Lewis’ initiative dovetails off of the township’s recently amended single-use plastics ordinance.
“Walking in my community I experience trash and weeds. Walking down Shopper’s Lane, I see trash and it seems like it is not picked up unless a complaint is submitted,” Wyncote resident Elaine Tomlin said. “We should not have to see blight with the amount of taxes we pay.”
Lauren Walter, the township’s director of communications, submitted the following statement to Glenside Local:
Litter along Cheltenham streets has been a noticed issue for some time. Not only is it unsightly, but it also creates a number of sanitary issues and negatively impacts community pride. The Fight Blight Township Cleanup Day is about community members coming together and lending a hand to clean up their streets.
As the saying goes, ‘Many hands make light work’! While the Township can continue to put out anti-litter messaging, it hits home when neighbors feel they have skin in the game. When we join together to take part in community upkeep, it can increase our sense of ownership and community that we hope will discourage future littering and dumping.
Those thoughts in mind, the township-wide “Fight Blight Township Cleanup Day” has been scheduled for Saturday, October 4 from from 10:00am-12:00pm (rain date October 5). The registration form is now open and can be accessed here. From the event’s description:
Cleanup can consist of picking up litter, sweeping sidewalks, pulling weeds (discard separately in debris collections), or other safe and simple upkeep. When possible, separate recyclables to discard with single-stream recycling. The Township will provide trash bags for litter that will be picked up by Public Works the following Monday.
“If you see something, please report it to the township or the police. Address it, if possible, yourself. I live in Cheltenham, and Cheltenham lives in me. That’s more or less my motto,” Commissioner Lewis said.
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Photos courtesy of Commissioner Lewis