Adopt-A-Highway Comes to Park Hill

The Park Hill Land Conservancy’s Rumsey Road/Cross County Parkway annual clean-up project has been championed by the neighborhood. The volunteers who have removed debris and clipped vines should take pride in their accomplishments; the woodsy entranceway to our neighborhood looks lovely - trees standing free and tall with nary an invasive vine in sight, garbage at a minimum! 

There has been so much neighborhood interest in maintaining the general area around the traffic circle that the Land Conservancy and the Residents Association have decided to join the Department of Transportation’s Adopt-A-Highway program!

Legislation to formalize New York State's Adopt-A-Highway Program was passed in 1990 to encourage individuals or groups to clean up highway roadsides and to recognize those volunteers who do. Participation in the program also fosters a sense of community ownership of the roadway as well as a sense of pride in its appearance.

Sometime during the summer an official Adopt-A-Highway sign will be planted on the highway cloverleaf and our formal maintenance program will begin.

Adopt-A-Highway is simple. Participating organizations must commit to a minimum of four annual maintenance days (we will do six each year). The State DOT provides orange safety vests, tools and garbage bags. WE provide hard labor, commitment, and lots of enthusiasm while we pick up garbage, root out invasive vines, clip, and plant.

A general sense of helplessness about environmental degradation pervades many of us; here is the perfect opportunity to participate personally in a manageable, local project over which we can exert control! However, we all know that local projects such as Adopt-A-Highway are only sustained over time with serious commitment. Please pick whatever dates suit you and inscribe them permanently in your calendar. We begin in September.

The 2005-2006 Saturday dates will be:
September 10
October 22
February 11, 2006
April 22
June 17
July 29
(Rain and snow dates are on the following Saturdays.)

The Land Conservancy will administer the Adopt-A-Highway program. Terry Joshi is the coordinator. Please contact her at 969-4142 with your choice of dates, ideas, and questions. 

For complete details about NY State's Adopt-A-Highway program, visit their homepage.