‘There’s just trash, trash, trash’: Can Augusta clean up its act?
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Signs, signs and more signs. They’re posted all over Augusta, and city leaders want to take them down.
Since Hurricane Helene, Augusta code enforcement staff say they’ve pulled up nearly 2,500 signs as well as other trash left behind after the storm.
This is just another aspect of the Augusta Commission’s push to beautify the city.
The streets are lined with more than traffic – there are signs, trash and questions about who is responsible.
“I cannot tell you what I pick up in my front yard,” said Mariam Brown, an Augusta resident.
Augusta is home for Brown.
“We always would pick up trash at our school, our top school,” said Brown. “We would always have these trash patrols that would go out and try to clean up.”
‘It’s really a tinderbox’: Local fire crews on high alert
While the CSRA hasn’t been as badly affected as much of South Carolina by an outbreak of wildfires in recent days, we’ve seen our share.
For decades, she’s lived on Walton Way.
”I almost have to go out every day, and there’s always something out there,” said Brown.
She’d love for the Garden City to stay true to its name.
“I think we’ve lost that designation,” said Brown. “I mean, it’s gonna take years for the canopy to ever grow to the point. I don’t know that it ever will happen.”
Turning things around requires more than one concern.
“It’s tacky looking,” said Catherine Smith Rice, Augusta District 3 commissioner.
It requires action.
“We need to make sure that we’re staying on top of this and cleaning up Augusta instead of junking up Augusta,” said Rice. “And that’s what that looks like. It’s junky-looking.”
To prove her point, Rice came with proof.
“You see people piled up with these grocery carts along Boy Scout Road, Jackson Road,” said Rice.
“Chairs sitting on the side of John C. Calhoun,” said Rice. “You have trash. We don’t need trash.”
We heard from the city engineering staff about traffic signs and code enforcement about yard signs.
I-20 bridge project is over Thursday, or contractors pay
Contractors have until Thursday to finish work on the I-20 bridge project that’s been plaguing traffic in the area for nearly six years.
“I don’t want to throw anybody under the bus, but when you ride by here, and I was here yesterday and today, and when you see certain trucks sitting out here when you come to meetings and they’re all along the road, why aren’t they out?” said Rice. “What’s wrong? Do we not have enough employees? Why aren’t they on the streets helping us out? Like I say, this is all hands on deck.”
Rice says it’s one thing to clean up the city.
“If we can do it two or three months out of the year, we ought to be able to take care of it 12 months out of the year,” said Rice.
And those like Brown who call Augusta home agree.
“I’d love to see the city just look good,” said Brown. “I mean, it’s just everywhere you go, you go out to the mall, you pull up one way by filling station, there’s just trash, trash, trash, it just seems like people could do a better job of just their own little square, their own little property,” said Brown.
Because the people who live here want to be proud of the city they call home.
Commissioners are also looking at plans to make Reynolds and Ellis streets one-way and bringing back timed parking on Broad Street.
We should hear more on this in the next 30 days, which is how long istration and engineering have to come up with a plan.
Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
