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Fred Raiford, Transportation & Drainage Director, left, and Donell Washington, Supt. of Landscaping, right, watch as Mayor Sharon Weston Broome, center, announces a new initiative related to blight during a press conference at the DPW South Lot Thursday June 21, 2018, in Baton Rouge, La. She also encouraged residents to join metro council members, local business leaders, and community partners to pick up litter around various sites within the 12 Baton Rouge Metro Council districts for Clean Sweep EBR Day.

I retired a little over a year ago and, since then, have done some fairly extensive driving all over the southeastern United States for family events and for vacations. I’ve driven thousands of miles on rural roads, highways and on the interstate system through the states of Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and Florida and this experience has led me to a few general conclusions:

  • Louisiana has the worst kept interstate system, major highways and byways in the whole area.
  • Baton Rouge is the trashiest-looking capital city in the South.

The amount of litter on the sides of the roads and debris on the actual roads themselves is incredible. The grass is only rarely cut and then, the trash is usually mowed along with the grass. I guess the smaller pieces disintegrate faster that way; I don’t know. Dead animals, pieces of truck tires and auto parts/plastic from wrecks are everywhere on the interstate system and highways — unfortunately, these items do not decompose very quickly.

All of the roads leading into Baton Rouge are the trashiest, ugliest roadways I’ve ever seen. Especially bad are the roads leading into town from the north: “Scenic Highway” (Highway 61), Highway 19, Plank Road and I-110. However, the south, west and east approaches are not far behind.

It’s disgraceful and embarrassing when friends and family drive to see us down here. Maybe that’s why I am so willing to drive to see them instead?

I used to be proud to be from this area, but now it’s nearly impossible to be proud of this ugly, messy, trashy place. The “wonderful people” and “great food” statements are wearing thin.

Operation Fresh Start targets blight in Baton Rouge, with plenty of help from volunteers

As our elected leaders, Gov. John Bel Edwards and Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome, they both should be ashamed of the situation and should be working hard to get this (formerly) beautiful state and city cleaned up. I don’t want to hear any crying about tax dollars and sacrifices to be made; all the other states around us are managing this issue somehow. I guess they realize that the payoff from tourism is greater than the expense of making their states worth visiting.

Matt Galey

retired

Zachary