In late May 2019 City of Raleigh staff announced the “Dump the Cart” pilot project. The project aimed at removing the numerous waste and recycling bins that lined busy downtown sidewalks, and replacing them with a centralized underground waste storage system from Molok. The pilot was originally intended to run from June 2019, to May 2020, but the City of Raleigh recently announced the pilot would end early on August 25th. The Molok containers would be removed, and the street returned to its original condition.
After the News and Observer published the Molok story August 13th, conversation online took off. People wanted to know why the project was canceled, and was it truely over or paused? The article quoted City Staff as saying they heard “valid complaints” plural, but one businesses complaint, in particular, was singled out. Mechanics & Farmers (M&F) Bank referenced complaints from customers coming into the bank over the Molok containers. The bank also had never been approached by City Staff to discuss the Molok containers being placed next to their property.
Local business owner John Pugh of House of Swank took issue with a single entity submitting a complaint causing the Molok’s to be removed. He filed an information request with the City of Raleigh to obtain copies of the complaints and called on the City to reverse its decision. He also created a Change.org petition online which as of this writing had over 1,400 signatures.
The Molok containers haven’t been a perfect success. Many first learned about the program when the containers install necessitated shutting down several blocks of Wilmington Street during a Monday morning rush hour. Users of the Alexander Square parking deck also complained the containers made it difficult to see oncoming traffic while exiting the garage.
However, the containers did accomplish what the pilot set out to do, free up sidewalk space and reduce the smell of waste in the public right-of-way. For someone like myself who frequently gets around downtown Raleigh by walking it was nice to have the garbage carts off the sidewalk. I personally didn’t notice much smell standing next to the Molok containers either. At the same time, it was disappointing to learn the city failed to communicate their plans with M&F Bank while it appeared it had discussed the plan with other businesses in the area.
Personally, I hope the city continues the Molok program. Perhaps this wasn’t the best location for the containers. Hopefully, a new location is found soon so the pilot can continue. Nothing I’ve seen or heard so far indicates city staff plan to cancel the pilot. Maybe we can hope to hear about a new location for the Moloks being selected at the next City Council meeting Tuesday, August 20th (It’s not on the agenda). Like our Facebook page Raleighite.com to catch the live stream of the next Council meeting.
Link to Live Stream for August 20th 2019 City Council Afternoon Session
