By the Numbers
Did you know that over the next four months, your Short North SID team will spend approximately:
Did you know that over the next four months, your Short North SID team will spend approximately:
- 500 hours on garden care maintaining 20 garden beds and 26 container gardens
- 85 hours on removing upwards of 100 graffiti tags
- 340 hours on trash pick-up
Graffiti Removal
Tagging and graffiti activity increase dramatically during the summer. Hits like this one happen all too frequently. They should be removed as quickly as possible. If you notice graffiti or tags on your property, call us at (614) 224-3600. Our team will be out promptly.
High Street Trash Can Pick-up Change
SID Director Tim Wagner has been working with the city to fine tune trash pick-up in the Short North from the cans along High Street. The trash will now be picked up on Mondays rather than Tuesdays, in order to reduce the amount of overflow from weekend and gallery hop visitors. The SID is also working on measures to lessen the visual impact on Sundays, particularly following gallery hop. The SID is putting plastic liners in the garbage cans on Saturday and picking up the trash on both Saturday and Sunday afternoon. This new effort to increase garbage collection on Gallery Hop weekends helped significantly reduce waste following last month's gallery hop, and the SID will continue this effort going forward.
Short North Bike Bollards
The Short North SID is planning to install an additional 32 bike bollards along High Street. An application to the Short North Foundation has been submitted to complete the project. Eighteen are already in place, with locations at Russel, Poplar, First Avenue, Second Avenue, Hubbard, and Mac's parking lot. Proposed new locations would include the intersections of Fourth Avenue, Spruce, Vine, and Price, as well as other locations on High.
The Bike Bollards were made possible with assistance from a number of neighborhood partners. Funding for the bollards along North High Street was provided by the Short North Special Improvement District ($1,650) and the Heffner Short North Neighborhood Endowment ($1,250). Funding for the Goodale Park bollards (a $6,000 project overall) was provided by the Community Festival Grants Committee, the Victorian Village Society, and the Heffner Short North Neighborhood Endowment ($2,500). Four bollards in the new Italian Village Park, located off Hubbard Avenue, were funded by the Italian Village Society, the Johnstone Short North Neighborhood Endowment at the Columbus Foundation, and the Short North Foundation.
New Planting Bed at Price Avenue
In May, the SID completed work on a new planting bed outside the Salon Lofts at 909 N. High Street. The planting took approximately three days, including soil preparation. SID Gardener Greg Maynard prepared the bed by adding 1,000 pounds of sand and mixing 1,600 pounds of cow manure into the existing soil. "If you want a good garden, you have start with a good garden soil," said Maynard. "There is a lot of bad soil along High Street. One of the hidden costs of good landscaping is improving (the existing grounds)." This accounts for all the manure and peat moss used to add organic material to the dirt along High Street - but what's with all the sand? Greg explained that most topsoil purchased in stores turns thick and clay-like with moisture. "Sand loosens up heavy clay and provides air space for water to move into soil; it also provides better drainage to avoid root rot," said Greg. The new bed includes a Mimosa Tree and two kinds of roses: Rosa rugosa and knockout roses. The roses come in five different colors and will complement a variety of other plantings in the new bed, including blue salvia, cat mint, artemisia, and petunias. The west bound intersection of First and High is considered one of the Short North's key gateways. The planting helps create a more appealing appearance as motorists turn onto the strip.
In May, the SID completed work on a new planting bed outside the Salon Lofts at 909 N. High Street. The planting took approximately three days, including soil preparation. SID Gardener Greg Maynard prepared the bed by adding 1,000 pounds of sand and mixing 1,600 pounds of cow manure into the existing soil. "If you want a good garden, you have start with a good garden soil," said Maynard. "There is a lot of bad soil along High Street. One of the hidden costs of good landscaping is improving (the existing grounds)." This accounts for all the manure and peat moss used to add organic material to the dirt along High Street - but what's with all the sand? Greg explained that most topsoil purchased in stores turns thick and clay-like with moisture. "Sand loosens up heavy clay and provides air space for water to move into soil; it also provides better drainage to avoid root rot," said Greg. The new bed includes a Mimosa Tree and two kinds of roses: Rosa rugosa and knockout roses. The roses come in five different colors and will complement a variety of other plantings in the new bed, including blue salvia, cat mint, artemisia, and petunias. The west bound intersection of First and High is considered one of the Short North's key gateways. The planting helps create a more appealing appearance as motorists turn onto the strip.
New SID Uniforms
SID staff will be much easier to identify come July. SID board members Sharon O'Brien and Carmen Owens have selected uniforms that will help identify the team and make it easier for visitors to recognize the effort the district is investing to keep the strip looking great.
