McCauley Community Clean-Up & Litter Squad

The Annual McCauley Community Clean-Up has provided a valuable service to our neighbourhood for many years. Due to COVID-19, this year’s clean-up could not take place in the same way it has in the past. To adapt, a contractor provided by McCauley Revitalization, E4C, the McCauley Community League, and Safer McCauley picked up unwanted large items free of charge. With no registration required, households and businesses simply placed items in their alleys on the advertised dates of June 19th and 20th.

Significant demand for the service – and some unforeseen challenges – caused the clean-up to take longer than expected. Ultimately, all items were picked up and 18 dumpster truck loads were taken to the Waste Management Centre. Community-based social enterprise partners (Mustard SeedWorks and Boyle Street Ventures) assisted with cleaning up any loose messes left behind. The McCauley Litter Squad also took part in the event, with 22 community members volunteering for a short “litter blitz” on June 20th.

Illegally Dumped Junk

Illegally dumped junk is a regular concern in McCauley. Households and businesses can now request free pick up of illegally dumped junk throughout the year. For assistance with large items dumped on your property and/or public property, please contact McCauley Revitalization Coordinator, Greg Brandenbarg at gregory.brandenbarg@edmonton.ca. Targeted turnaround for pick up is 48 hours. Revitalization and Safer McCauley are pleased to be partnering with Boyle Street Ventures to support this service. Boyle Street Ventures will also be scheduled for several sweeps of McCauley alleys to pick up illegally dumped junk throughout the year.

Chinatown is a unique asset in McCauley, Boyle Street, Downtown, Central McDougall, and the entire Edmonton area. Please consider supporting its restaurants, markets, bakeries, and other businesses whenever possible.

Support for the Chinatown Business Improvement Area

Safer McCauley and Revitalization are participating in a process to increase support for the Chinatown Business Improvement Area (BIA). This year’s community clean up expanded service throughout the BIA. And the BIA is now making regular use of the free service to pick up illegally dumped items.

A partnership between the BIA, Revitalization, Capital City Clean Up, and the Mustard Seed now supports SeedWorks to provide 32 hours per week of proactive litter and needle clean up on public property in the BIA – as well as 16 more hours throughout McCauley. A partnership with Boyle Street Ventures also adds pressure washing to the list of services available to the BIA community.

On July 14th, a Chinatown Community Meeting brought together a representative group of stakeholders to discuss safety and build collaboration in support of the BIA. The meeting was convened by REACH Edmonton. Those invited included the Chinatown BIA Board, the Chinatown Transformation Collaborative, the Chinese Benevolent Association, and multiple community leagues. Also represented were the Mayor’s Office, the Ward 6 City Councillor’s Office, several City departments, Boyle Street Ventures, #YEGAmbassadors, EPS, and REACH. Participants enjoyed a productive meeting and began to identify and prioritize their concerns.

Chinatown is a unique asset in McCauley, Boyle Street, Downtown, Central McDougall, and the entire Edmonton area. Please consider supporting its restaurants, markets, bakeries, and other businesses whenever possible.

Chinatown & McCauley Safety Resources Booklet

At the Chinatown Community Meeting, Safer McCauley presented a new Chinatown & McCauley Safety Resource Booklet. The document, compiled in collaboration with McCauley Revitalization, will be an updated “who-to-call” resource to be made available online and distributed in hard copy to households and businesses. Some of the available resources are represented in the updated Boyle Street and McCauley Crime and Safety Contacts list in this issue of Boyle McCauley News. The booklet and the list represent a greater emphasis on 24/7 Crisis Diversion and other McCauley-relevant services, while still connecting the community to Edmonton Police Services.

_Mark is REACH Edmonton’s Neighbourhoods Convener. He can be contacted at mark.davis@reachedmonton.ca