Akron - Keep Akron Beautiful (KAB) conducted their annual Community Appearance Index on June 1, 2018. This is a tool designed by Keep America Beautiful to visually assess the overall appearance of communities through indicators such as litter, illegal signs, and graffiti. A team of community, business, and government representatives conducted the visual analysis using a scoring system with choices ranging from 1-4, with “1” being minimal or no litter to “4” being extremely littered.
The 2018 Litter Index for the City of Akron rated 1.13, reflecting minimal to no litter. Temporary Illegal Signage Index rated a 1.28, reflecting an average of fewer than 5 signs illegally placed on public land in any one ward and the Graffiti Index rated a 1.00. A 2 graffiti rating would mean 1-2 small tags per ward, no larger than 6 feet by 6 feet and could be cleaned up by 1-2 people. All ten wards scored extremely low, with the highest litter index score being only 1.37.
The same route, designed by Keep America Beautiful, is used every year and was designed to survey a combination of residential, commercial, industrial, recreational, and educational sites in each ward. Although the route is not able to survey every section of the city, the scores are reflective of a community that cares and has been making an effort to keep Akron clean and beautiful.
The volunteers were constantly commenting on how wonderful each ward looked. It is clear that Akronites have been working hard to take care of their residences and businesses. Ward 6 and Ward 8 have worked especially hard – they scored the lowest possible score of a 1 – meaning they had very minimal litter or no litter.
This year the survey team included: Keep Akron Beautiful staff member Cindy Pantea, KAB Emeritus Board Member Sue Kruder, KAB Board Member Charlie Solley, Community Volunteer Wanda Morris, and Community Volunteer Debbie Mansfield.
City of Akron Mayor Daniel Horrigan said, “This is just one more way that Akronites are investing in their community. There are so many citizens who enhance Akron, in ways both big and small, and this data is a great indicator that everyone’s hard work continues to pay off.”
KAB CEO, Jacqui Flaherty-Ricchiuti commented, “Keep Akron Beautiful is proud of the results that we have seen in the Community Appearance Index this year. We feel that the City is really banning together to end littering in Akron, and we are so thrilled. The amount of graffiti and illegal signage is also down from last year, and we couldn’t help but notice all of the well maintained yards and businesses as we drove around each ward of the City. Akron residents, Akron business owners and City government should be proud of the great effort.”
Keep America Beautiful, Inc., established in 1953, is the nation's largest volunteer-based community action and education organization. With a network of nearly 1,000 affiliate and participating organizations, Keep America Beautiful forms public-private partnerships and programs that engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community's environment. To learn more, visit www.kab.org.