Photo by Joshua Yopsyn.
The Cherry Blossom Festival ended on Sunday, with the cherry trees in full bloom and the National Mall covered in garbage.
From the Washington Post:
Robert Vogel, superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks, said the situation “wasn’t acceptable” and that he called for additional crews about noon.
“But once you get behind, it’s difficult to catch up until the masses leave,” he said.
Officials, he said, “weren’t adequately” prepared for what he described as record crowds for the National Cherry Blossom Festival, though he didn’t have a precise number of visitors. Thousands arrived early, which caused a quick pileup of trash, and trucks had a difficult time getting through the crowds and to the packed sidewalks to pick up waste.
“I think we did drop the ball a little bit,” Vogel said, adding that his staff would review what happened. “Normally this is something we excel at.”
Just a little bit.
Photo by Chris Christner.
Photo by Stuart Trouton.
Photo by Stuart Trouton.
Saw it firsthand! Tons of trash on the national mall http://t.co/SGUBOLaPad pic.twitter.com/4b1I8Z12dF
— Tammie Imel (@tli12) April 14, 2014
@311DCgov trash pick up on the national mall please. pic.twitter.com/OHlNjmMITV
— Dylan Stoddard (@Dylanoid) April 13, 2014
The main feature of the cherry blossom festival is all the trash. pic.twitter.com/Hl7aoq1GoT
— Rocky Martin (@ABadPoem) April 12, 2014
Cherry blossom trash. National Park Service do better. Not in our city. @mayorvincegray pic.twitter.com/XH32jKmtwQ
— Michael Shank (@Michael_Shank) April 13, 2014
What a shame to see this mess on the mall – @NatlParkService why isn’t the trash getting picked up? pic.twitter.com/ARiK2q4zdT
— Deborah Charles (@deborahscharles) April 13, 2014
