Dear Editor,

As a new Ballard resident, I was delighted to discover Golden Gardens. It’s got a gorgeous view of the sound, sandy beaches, the smell of salt air, and the Olympics beaming down on you. It also has a mountain of trash the morning after a beautiful day.

I dropped by early one morning and found out just what the park workers have to contend with. Beer cans and bottles littered the beach. The ruins of a whole Thai feast sat out on the ground in front of a park bench. It was a bit nauseating to watch the crows pick at the rotting food.

Some trash cans had enough garbage next to them to fill an extra can and a half, but a number of people did not bother walking the five to 10 steps to dispose of their trash.

In late May, the parks department supervisor, Tim Gallagher, decided getting rid of trash cans would save money on the absurd theory that if the public have to walk more than ten steps to the nearest garbage can, they’ll just take their trash home with them. According to park workers, Golden Gardens has had its cans reduced since then from about 80 to 50 cans, with more on the chopping block.

Most of the eliminated cans are near the parking lot. Although I strongly support owning up to our responsibility as park enjoying citizens, we have to face the facts. The rule of being human says if people have to hunt too hard or travel too far to find a waste can, they will conclude that someone is paid to pick up after them and leave the trash right there. The next group that comes by will see that the accepted standard is to leave trash where it falls because “someone else” will pick it up.

I spoke to a maintenance worker who is part of that “someone else.” He says their chief responsibility is not cleaning up the parks, but landscaping all of the city grounds. The smallest part of his day is about to become more labor intensive.

It’s time for a reality check. Is it more efficient to change 80 cans and pick up beer cans or change 50 cans, pick up after the 70 picnics that occurred the day before, then clean up the beer cans?

This is a two-pronged problem. Citizens, please pick up after yourselves and maybe even your fellow park goers.

Tim Gallagher, I invite you to become more in touch with the needs of Golden Gardens through a visit to the beach some early Monday morning after a gorgeous sunny weekend to see how grimy your pristine park can look.

J. Raymond
Ballard