Viaduct Footings: When Dumping Looks Like A Homeless Person's Stuff

Photo: Diane Edwardson, March, 28, 2015.  In October, a bunch of foam padding exploded out of its plastic garbage bag from where it was dumped last August, among the native California Black Walnut Trees, above the historic landmark viaduct footings.   (Click on photos  to enlarge.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, March 28, 2015.  The Red Car Property's owner's rep swore on a regular basis  that dumping would be picked up, yet the pile remains.  

A representative of PATH (People Assisting the Homeless) recently remarked that it must be a homeless person's belongings.  I said, "No.  We've been documenting it since it first arrived on the property last August.  It was dumped there.  No one is using it."

What purpose does it serve to appear as if a homeless person lives there?  It creates fear among people who would walk the property.  It reduces the number of positive users of the property (walking, jogging, families playing) so that bad uses can continue (dumping, partying, using it like a toilet) can continue.  It also creates a sentiment toward developers that we need new development to get rid of these bad things.  How about just pick up the dumping and block the vehicle traffic?

In the past 2 weeks, suddenly there has been new dumping, rearrangement of old dumping to appear as if we had a homeless problem on the Red Car Property. Really, what we have is a problem of a property owner who fails to restrict vehicle access to the property and fails to pick up the dumping on the property.