Sparkling new things can make for a delightful experience. Maintaining that delight requires intention and attention. While it can seem more exciting to frequently buy new things than to maintain the old (the equivalent of cleaning one’s house), maintenance keeps things working well and looking good.
A dominant comment during the community outreach and engagement for our Streetscape process was “keep it simple” (more on that here). Part of the reason is that the character of Colfax is not fancy-schmancy, but very much a reflection of the roll-up-your-sleeves attitude of the community. Another important reason was that simple elements are oftentimes easier to maintain.
We’ve had many cars crash recklessly into our pedestrian light poles, yet, we have not had to replace a single one. The poles are solidly built and the most we’ve had to do is “dust them off” and reinstall them when knocked down.
The Colfax Ave BID has limited resources that we work to use effectively and efficiently to keep Colfax looking clean — and in some cases, shiny. Our goal is to make new installations like the COLFAX AVE sculpture by the Fillmore Auditorium box office always look like it was put there yesterday.
We have made maintenance a high priority so that all street furniture like trash receptacles, benches, and pedestrian light poles look and function like they are new. That’s a big reason why we’ve just hired our first ever Operations Manager, Mitch Freund (see the announcement here).
Mitch is assessing the state of our current properties of trash receptacles, pedestrian poles and lighting, power boxes, art installations, etc. With his constant attention, we will be able to rehabilitate our properties that can be repaired, replace what can’t be fixed, and install new amenities that can be reasonably maintained where they are needed and our budget allows.
When our attention is focused on continual maintenance we are using the financial resources that our stakeholders generously provide in an efficient manner.
There are many other elements the community has asked for during the streetscape process. “Plant more trees” and more greenery were high on the list. While we very much want to fulfill those desires, we need to do so thoughtfully and methodically so that once they are installed we have the ability to maintain them and keep them looking new. Forever.
With the intention to keep everything looking new and our attention to the litter, graffiti, stickers, cigarette butts, etc. we will help the true character of Colfax shine.