You might be surprised to learn what those ugly black blobs are that spot the sidewalks of downtown Akron and other communities.
A friend and I were walking to a nearby eatery on Main Street a few weeks ago and discussed their origin. She said it was gum that had gathered dirt and melted into the concrete. I argued that people wouldn’t simply spit their gum on the ground.
Being her sassy self, she insisted that I lean down and take a closer look. Sure enough, some of the edges of the blobs were tinted pink — giving a hint to the underlying Dubble Bubble.
Every few feet on the busy blocks in Akron there are trash cans, yet people apparently can’t keep their gum in their yaps long enough to make it to the receptacles. Instead, regardless of where others may step, some knuckleheads would rather stick out their tongues and let it roll out. G-r-o-s-s.
Mark Gibbs works on special projects for the Downtown Akron Partnership. The group is made up of property owners, business leaders, government officials and residents who want to improve the image of downtown. As part of his job, he uses a power washer to blast the crap (including gum, tar and vomit) off of the sidewalks.
“I don’t get it,” lamented Gibbs, who was given the nickname “Sprayanator” a few years back for his expertise with a power washer. “My grandmother would have popped me for spitting gum on the sidewalks.”
So just how bad is the issue? As part of quality control, Kevin Dobbins, operation manager of the Downtown Akron Partnership’s Clean & Safe Program, actually counts the blobs.
Dobbins recently tallied about 3,000 spots in the block in which the Evans building sits at the corner of East Exchange and Main streets. And on South Main Street between Cedar and Exchange, about 2,500 blobs were marring the landscape. Of course that doesn’t include the gum that got stuck to the heels of unexpecting pedestrians and re-cemented on their car’s floormats.
For areas that have a lot of traffic, such as those in front of bars, restaurants and Canal Park, the sidewalks receive a gum cleaning once a year. For stubborn spots, Gibbs sprays a Freon-like product on them. The gooey stuff freezes and he then blasts the icy wads with the power washer.
Dobbins said there has been some discussion about getting containers specifically for chewed gum. Of course there’s no guarantee people would use them, if they can’t walk to a trash can now to empty their mouths.
To beat the rush hour crowds, the Sprayanator’s workday starts at about 5 a.m. So he spends long hours cleaning up Juicy Fruit.
“Do you have a power washer at home?” I asked.
Gibbs chuckled: “The only sprayer at my house is in the shower.”
Kim Hone-McMahan can be reached at 330-996-3742 or kmcmahan@thebeaconjournal.com. Find her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/kim.honemcmahan.