Tired Of Waiting On The City, South Sacramento Twin Sisters Clean Up Neighborhood Sidewalk Themselves
SOUTH SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – Twin sisters from south Sacramento decided they could not wait any longer to clean up their neighborhood.
For months, Margarita Chavez watched weeds grow through sidewalk cracks at 24th Street and Matson Drive near a bus stop. After calls to the city for help, she enlisted the help of her twin sister, Mirna Gonzalez, to step in.
Not many people travel with gardening tools and trash bags always in their cars.
Tired of blight, Chavez enjoys beautifying her neighborhood. She's a member of Sacramento Picks it Up, a group dedicated to clearing trash around the city.
Chavez, 68, said she called 311 a year ago to request a cleaning crew.
A city spokesperson told CBS13 the complaint was never logged, and the caller was told to contact Sacramento Regional Transit (SacRT). Chavez said she never received a response.
Recently, she documented online how she and her sister brought their own traffic cones and got to work.
"We also brought a broom," Gonzalez said, referring to the common sight of broken glass.
They finished in 90 minutes with no powered equipment.
"It was women power. Two old women power," Chavez said with a laugh.
The bus stop is no longer active. Yet, SacRT said it will spruce up an area if someone calls them, according to a spokesperson.
The public transit agency said it will dispatch a crew within 24 hours, even if the area is several feet away from a stop.
For Chavez, it's about keeping the sidewalks passable, so people avoid walking on the streets.