I want this fixed too!

I often feel that the only real difference between New Haven and places like Portland, OR is just on the surface. Portland is widely regarded as the most sustainable city around, but that's in large part only because it has highly-visible things that people remember, like light rail that connects to the airport, a modern streetcar downtown, on-street bike parking, bike lanes that painted green through intersections, and bike commuter traffic jams. In reality, the place has a 13% unemployment rate and is actually way more conservative than New Haven. I remember two years ago it turned out the private company to whom the Portland contracted out their recycling pick-up services was actually just dumping the recycling into the landfill.

My point is, all anyone pays attention to are the little details of the surface. That’s why it is important to have recycling bins at the train station. People notice things like that and judge you by them. If we actually put our best foot forward, we would become known as the most sustainable, liberal, progressive, forward-thinking city in New England in no time.