Curt is Chicago native – but don’t hold that against him. After stops in Madison and California, he and his wife moved to Waukesha in 2004 to open their own downtown business.
A few Saturdays ago, my wife and I headed out the door and down to our usual weekend breakfast destination, Dave’s Restaurant, on Broadway.
As we meandered down Main, I couldn’t help but notice something different about the streets, however, I couldn’t put a finger on it right away.
Was it the Christmas decorations on the lampposts?
No.
Was there more traffic than usual?
Nuh uh.
Less?
Not that either.
But something was definitely different.
And then, it dawned on me.
The streets looked clean- I mean REALLY clean.
Now, don’t get me wrong- it’s not like Main Street is always a trash-ridden mess (although it has it’s days). However, downtown sees a lot of traffic in a day, and that can take a toll on its cleanliness. And on windy days, Main Street seems to be the final destination for all of the trash in the entire City of Waukesha.
That’s just the way it is.
But on this day, the streets were spotless, the curbs were free of debris and the parking lots were without their usual trash.
It was impressive to say the least.
What was even more impressive was the reason behind the neat streetscape.
It’s referred to as “Operation Clean Sweep”; a Waukesha Police Department program that joins community volunteers with kids who are currently “involved in our City’s legal system” to assist in keeping the City landscape clean and tidy. They are currently working in conjunction with the Downtown Business Improvement District and concentrating their efforts on the downtown area.
And they are doing a great job.
Nothing makes people feel welcome and safe like a clean city.
From talking to the officers and volunteers involved, I got the impression that this was a relatively new program, but it appears that the initial run has been successful, thus leading me to believe that “Clean Sweep” will continue its efforts in the future.
I can only hope so.
As someone who has blogged his fair share of negative things about Waukesha, it is a program like this, with this kind of result, that rebuilds my confidence in this City.
The entire operation deserves a hearty “thank you”- the Police, the volunteers, the kids, the BID, and any others involved that I missed.
The streets look great, and downtown is a better place for it. It’s good for the City and it’s good for business.
Thank you.
