Trash piles building up daily at bus stop

THE PROBLEM -- Piles of trash accumulate daily at a bus stop on the north side of Northern Parkway and York Road. Two trash cans near the corner are far enough from the stop that many people do not use them to dispose of their rubbish. THE BACK STORY -- There are about 4,500 trash cans placed strategically on sidewalks across the city, said Joseph A. Kolodziejski, head of the Bureau of Solid Waste at the Department of Public Works. Many of those are near bus stops and other high-traffic areas, including downtown, and main arteries such as York, Reisterstown and Harford roads.

But Kolodziejski said that people often move the cans. "We do try to keep them as close to the bus stops as possible," Kolodziejski said. Looking to remedy the situation, he has ordered about 450 new cans that cannot be moved, and larger than what is in place now. The new cans are scheduled to arrive in less than a month.

"When the new cans come in, we'll have something permanently fixed there - smack dab, next to the bus stop," he said. "You can be guaranteed right now it's going to get top priority." WHO CAN FIX IT -- Joseph A. Kolodziejski, head of the Bureau of Solid Waste for the Department of Public Works, 410-396-5134. City residents can also call 311.

Nicole Fuller

UPDATE

Ten light poles that had been cut down in the 5700 block of Sinclair Lane in Northeast Baltimore, leaving jagged-edged stubs and open wires on a well-traveled path, have been replaced, reports David Brown, spokesman for the city's Department of Transportation. Brown said crews are still trying to replace all of the 136 light poles that were stolen last year from around the city. He said the pace slowed when the stockpile of poles ran out and more had to ordered.