Boulder Spends Thousands To Bear-Proof Pearl Street Mall
By Tori Mason
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4)- In the latest effort to deter bears from hanging around public places, Boulder has put a lot of money behind new trash and recycle containers.
In 2014, the City of Boulder passed the Bear Protection Ordinance that requires residents and businesses in certain areas of Boulder to have bear-proof trash cans. The ordinance was designed to protect both wildlife and humans.
In an effort to deter more bears, the city installed 100 of those heavy duty trash and recycling containers around Pearl Street.
The $1,000 trash bins are designed like public mailboxes. They make it easy to put something in and nearly impossible for a human, let alone a bear, to get something out.
The expensive design has some wondering, not what, but who, were these trashcans installed for?
"I think they're made to deter homeless people more than they are to get rid of bears," said a mall employee.
Another employee said he's lived in Boulder his whole life and has never seen a bear on the Pearl Street Mall.
Even though one block of the mall doesn't fall under the ordinance, the city went installed additional trash cans there in case of future expansion.
Tori Mason is an award-winning reporter for CBS4 This Morning. Follow her on Twitter @ToriMasonTV.
