City has a hand in Melrose cleanup

By The Gazette Editorial Board

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On University of Iowa home football game days, the area surrounding Kinnick Stadium becomes a disgusting mess.

Food wrappers, empty cups and beer cases, unidentified debris - mounds of refuse left behind by eager fans and tailgaters. The trashy atmosphere irritates neighborhood residents and leaves visitors the wrong impression.

So we were disappointed to hear an Iowa City commission working on other gameday issues punt recently on the question of trash.

Even though much of the mess is on city property, it's the UI's job to clean it up, members of the Iowa City zoning and planning board members wrote in a statement to city councilors.

“The neighborhood and Melrose Avenue commercial vendors agree that there is a need for more trash containers, litter cleanup and portable toilets,” commissioners wrote in that statement. “The University of Iowa has the primary responsibility to address these issues.”

But Iowa City can't just dump the gameday trash problem on UI, even if it is a university-sponsored event that draws the crowd.

That would make about as much sense as saying once those football revelers head to the city's Pedestrian Mall for postgame, the school should be responsible for maintaining that public area, as well.

The UI and city staff need to work together to devise a better trash disposal system.

Hawkeye football crowds may generate a few headaches for municipal leaders, but they generate a whole lot of revenue, as well.

And especially since zoning and planning commissioners recommended the city keep allowing gameday vendors in the Melrose Neighborhood, they've got a responsibility to stay involved in the trash problem, too.

There is widespread agreement that the trash and public urination problem has grown steadily worse in recent years. Some UI football fans have gotten used to unacceptable behavior.

Changing that behavior won't happen overnight, but there are things the city can immediately do to help mitigate the problem - such as making more trash containers and portable toilets available, and making sure they are clean and well-maintained.

Once the city has made it easier for fans to do their part to mitigate the problem, they can work with the UI to determine what other steps must be taken to address serious trash, litter, and public urination issues for the Melrose Avenue neighborhood.

Iowa City leaders are making good headway in addressing Melrose Avenue area residents' concerns about mistreatment of their neighborhood on game days.

It's their responsibility to keep that momentum going when the subject turns to trash.

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