By Kris Michell | Downtown Partnership News

Editor’s Note: This is the first installment of a new monthly column about the issues facing Downtown San Diego.

Try to imagine Downtown without the Clean & Safe program.

It is a scary thought.

Trash cans would overflow, and sidewalks would be grimy from lack of sweeping and power washing. The iconic Gaslamp sign might still be broken, and the fountain at Children’s Park would still be an eyesore lying empty. There would be no one to quickly remove graffiti. There would be no extra landscaping, no lights in trees, no enhanced security and much less help to end homelessness in Downtown.

The good news is this vision of Downtown does not have to become a reality.

The Clean & Safe program, which has been serving Downtown for 14 years, is up for renewal so that it can continue its enhanced services in Downtown for another 10 years.

Here are just some of what the Clean & Safe team took care of in Downtown San Diego in 2013:

• Removed of 22,067 piece of graffiti
• Removed 1,153 tons of debris
• Swept 261,958 sidewalks and pressure washed 20,800 sidewalks using reclaimed and graywater
• Managed 176 doggy bag stations throughout Downtown
• Emptied curbside trash cans 266,549 times
• Planted nearly a 1,000 plants and trees throughout Downtown’s neighborhoods
• Restored the Children’s Pond and fixed its fountain
• Made contact with homeless individuals 46,203 times
• Addressed 5,194 public intoxication incidents

As part of the renewal process, Clean & Safe will provide even more of the services that Downtown property owners have been asking for, including additional beautification and place-making efforts, as well as its ongoing safety and maintenance programs. It will mean more lights in trees, more drought-tolerant plantings and greater homeless outreach services.

In addition, Clean & Safe will continue to be accountable and transparent to the communities we serve, providing the services that each neighborhood identifies as the most critical to creating a vibrant Downtown.

So if you can’t imagine Downtown without Clean & Safe, we need your help — and now.

If you are a Downtown property, we need you to sign a petition in support of renewing the Clean & Safe program. You can arrange to get and sign your petition by contacting Greg Parkington at [email protected].

We need to finish the signature gathering in the next few weeks and your support will mean that no one will have to imagine a Downtown without Clean & Safe.

By working together, we will be able to keep our Downtown clean, safe and beautiful for many years to come.

—Kris Michell is the president and CEO of the Downtown San Diego Partnership, the organization that oversees the Clean & Safe program and also works toward creating a world-class Downtown. For questions or comments, email [email protected].