The City of Galveston recently mowed the medians along 61st Street (even though it’s the state’s responsibility), but it’s difficult to keep the area completely spotless.
Chris Gray/Chron
In a week or so, tourists will descend on Galveston by the tens of thousands for the extended July 4 weekend. Many will exit Interstate 45 at 61st Street, an area that has long made islanders, including Leslie Le Cornu, cringe.
“It’s disappointing that the main gateway to our tourist island has been allowed to deteriorate to this extent,” Le Cornu, whose family owns the nautical-themed Strand souvenir shop The Admiralty, wrote Tuesday in the Completely Galveston Facebook group, probably the island’s biggest public forum at more than 180,000 members.
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“Visitors arriving in Galveston are greeted by debris, overturned shopping carts, discarded mattresses, trash, overgrown weeds, and who knows what else,” Le Cornu continued. “First and last impressions matter, and right now we’re NOT putting our best foot forward.”
Litter along Galveston’s Harborside Drive
Chris Gray/Chron
Her post struck a nerve, garnering more than 200 comments in 48 hours. Several users said they were willing to volunteer to help clean the area if necessary. Others noted that, as Spur 342, 61st Street’s upkeep is in fact the State of Texas’ responsibility. Galveston City Manager Brian Maxwell joined the discussion, explaining that the city has taken care of the 61st area ahead of major holidays and events for several years anyway, “and will do so again before the 4th of July,” Maxwell wrote.
“Our parks crews do this each and every year with no reimbursement or assistance from the state of Texas, who is responsible for maintaining all of the areas you mention,” Maxwell continued.
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As her post went viral, Le Cornu also contacted TXDOT, which promised to look into the situation and was “very kind on the phone,” she told Chron. Still, she’d rather take action now than wait around for the state to act. With around 3 million people on the island’s doorstep, “we need to look good,” she said.
Some areas of the popular tourist corridor remain a little unkempt.
Chris Gray/Chron
“I’m gonna be honest with you: I’ve been here 33 years, and Galveston has never really looked very good,” Le Cornu continued. “Between the hurricanes and everything, it’s been tough. So I’m just ready to take matters into my own hands.”
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But Maxwell was as good as his word. Coincidence or not, the right-of-ways near 61st Street and I-45 have been freshly mowed since Le Cornu’s post; the discarded mattresses and shopping carts have disappeared. But more than 40 people have volunteered to help Le Cornu clean the area on Monday morning, so her focus has shifted to Harborside Drive, another state-maintained roadway (Highway 275) that connects I-45 to the Port of Galveston. I’ve always thought Harborside has a sort of rough charm, but the mere thought was enough to make Le Cornu say, “oof.”
“I can’t even imagine what people think when they go down Harborside to get on their cruise ship,” Le Cornu said. “The island could be so pretty, but [Harborside] is all industrial and just not very pretty, not very welcoming.”
Until a few days ago, discarded items like old mattresses and shopping carts were a familiar sight at the I-45/61st Street underpass.
Chris Gray/Chron
Regardless, the response to her 61st Street post has been “phenomenal,” Le Cornu said. The Harborside cleanup is now scheduled for Sunday morning; the public can sign up here. One man promised to bring an entire yard crew, including commercial-grade blowers. A local bakery owner offered to provide kolaches for the volunteers. If the idea continues to gain traction, there may be more to come—for example she’d love to see the row of palm trees along 61st, casualties of the catastrophic February 2021 freeze, replanted.
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“I’ve always been a big advocate for litter and cleaning things up,” Le Cornu said. “I don’t want things cookie-cutter, I just want [them] neat and pretty. Simplicity is key, for sure, and it doesn’t take much: maybe a little paint on a curb or a new little tree, but the trash [has] definitely always been an issue here.”
Danny Perez, lead public information officer for TXDOT’s Houston district, told Chron that the department mows all roadways it maintains in Galveston County four times a year. It will also conduct spot mowing as needed, “such as when motorists cannot see the roadway,” he said, adding that TXDOT workers pick up litter once a month and sweep the roadways every two weeks.
“We try to identify these larger items while we do our routine maintenance patrols,” Perez explained. “However, we also rely on the public to report such issues whenever possible as we may not cover a specific area of the county for a few days.”
Dead palm fronds at the intersection of I-45 and 61st Street
Chris Gray/Chron
The public can always report any issues such as debris, mowing or other roadway issues at TXDOT’s “Report an Issue” webpage, Perez said.
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“We thank the public for their support, and we certainly understand their concerns to keep the community clean,” he continued. “We share and respect their concerns, and we want to do our part to keep Texas beautiful.”
Another commenter on Le Cornu’s post helpfully provided a list of the area’s state representatives and their contact information. Maxwell, meanwhile, hoped islanders would direct their frustrations in the proper direction.
“I will keep saying,” the city manager wrote, “[that] you can complain locally but until folks vote differently in Austin, cities will continue to struggle with such things and lose more of their identity and ability to serve [their] citizens as its charter and residents intend.”
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