Shreveport’s Block by Block clears 810 tons of trash in 11 areas

SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) — Phase I of the City of Shreveport’s Block by Block initiative consisted of a series of clean sweeps across 11 neighborhoods: Cedar Grove, Queensborough, Mooretown, Ingleside, Broadmoor, Southern Hills, Highland, Allendale, Lakeside, Martin Luther King Jr., and Cherokee Park.

Mayor Tom Arceneaux says the success is evident by the numbers.

“We picked up 810 tons of trash. That’s almost 1.8 million pounds of trash. We picked up over 3000 tires,” Arceneaux says.

In addition to collecting trash, the Shreveport Fire Department installed 50 free smoke detectors and inspected hundreds of homes for fire safety.

Mayor Arceneaux believes that the only way to combat blight is for the community to work together.

“It isn’t my plan. It isn’t the city Council’s plan. It isn’t even the city’s plan. It’s the community’s plan that we want to develop to bring about a real change and transformation in the city of Shreveport,” he shares.

They had 312 registered volunteers with additional on-site helpers. Mayor Arceneaux named Shreveport Green, Visit Shreveport-Bossier, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and airmen from Barksdale Air Force Base as part of those included.

Phase II of the Block by Block initiative will include reinvestment in Shreveport’s neighborhoods, Arceneaux says. Areas of Mooretown and Highland have been selected as the starting point for these efforts.

“Tearing down buildings and picking up tires is not enough. It’s good, but it’s not enough. We have to reinvest in these neighborhoods and bring them back where people want to live in them enough to want to come and repopulate those neighborhoods,” he shares.

They are compiling information from around 400 surveys of neighborhood residents to develop a series of plans for Phase II, with official announcements upcoming.