People who regularly visit Chinatown will notice there’s something different about the area.
There’s less garbage floating around the streets, sidewalks have been swept and that foul smell that used to be there isn’t anymore.
Grace Xin, executive director of the Somerset Street Chinatown BIA, says the cleanup is part of a recent collaboration with the BIA, the City of Ottawa, and the business owners and residents of the area.
“Image is very important to us and we want to present a clean image of Chinatown for everyone to be comfortable to live, work and shop here,” she says.
Xin says when she first took on her position in March, improving the cleanliness in Chinatown was a big concern among the residents and business owners in the neighbourhood.
She says the City of Ottawa got involved in September after receiving a high number of complaints about the garbage disposal habits of some businesses and residents, such as putting their garbage out too early and leaving it on the sidewalks until it was collected. The city responded with plans for stricter garbage disposal bylaw enforcement in the area and more inspections to ensure everyone complies.
To kick off the BIA’s efforts, a fall cleaning was held on Sept. 25, where store owners and residents cleaned their properties inside and out.
Sarin Prom, a regular patron of Chinatown, says she has seen the cleanliness issue first hand, but did notice an improvement after the cleanup.
“Usually when I come here, the smell of seafood is always very strong and would probably turn a lot of people off,” says Prom. “But today, I barely noticed the smell, which was a nice surprise.”
Xin says the fall cleaning was only the beginning. She says on top of the scheduled cleanings by the city, the BIA hopes to hire their own people to clean the street regularly and help maintain the front yards of business and residential properties in Chinatown, by planting more trees and flowers and pulling out weeds.