City trashes curb appeal

Is anyone else noticing the barrage of panhandlers, graffiti and garbage that line the streets of our city? I have developed and managed commercial real estate for over 20 years in this town. At no other time during my working career have I spent more time dealing with graffiti cleanup, vandalism and unwanted solicitors than I do now.

Time that I could otherwise be spending marketing our facilities to national, regional and local retailers (which increases the city’s tax base by the way) is now spent working with my maintenance staff cleaning up after people who have no apparent pride for our town or for themselves.

The curb appeal of our city is disgraceful. Our on/off ramps from Interstate 90 (the gateways to our beautiful city) are lined with panhandlers, garbage and weeds. What in the world is our city government doing about this? Nothing!

If our city government was serious about creating change these gateways would be filled with flowers, lights and architectural signage welcoming our visitors. Instead, visitors to our Spokane are welcomed with cardboard signs that say “Why lie, all I want is a beer.”

John Stejer

Spokane