Crews To Close Busy Palo Alto Street For Pigeon-Poop Project
PALO ALTO (CBS SF) -- Some detours are coming to Palo Alto over the next couple of weeks as plans to clean up after local pigeons will shut down one of the busiest streets in town.
Palo Alto remains one of the most desirable places to live in the Bay Area, and not just for humans. Hundreds of pigeons are living within the I-beams underneath the Caltrain underpass on Embarcadero Road.
From the looks of it, the birds have been there for quite some time.
Pigeon droppings are visible on the walls, the sidewalk, the curb, the lights, the pipes and the ledges. Droppings are everywhere.
"I think it's kind of gross. But what can you really do?" asked Palo Alto resident Anna Alioto. "They live here. We have to share the environment with them. Even if they clean it up, right? They're going to come right back."
Palo Alto city officials have decided enough is enough. Calling it dirty and unsightly, officials are ordering a massive cleanup effort that begins Tuesday night.
After that, crews will install netting to keep the pigeons from coming back.
KPIX 5 talked to one Palo Alto local who was conflicted.
"Well, I like the pigeons, but I don't like the pigeon poop," Shirley Stewart said with a laugh.
Stewart said she enjoys watching the birds fly around, but agrees they have got to go.
"Oh, they'll find another place, I'm sure. They're clever animals," said Stewart.
Embarcadero Road will be closed overnight from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. starting Tuesday evening every day until December 1 with the closures resuming during those same hours between December 5-8.
