A Queensborough resident is appealing to the city to curb wayward shopping buggies from being dumped in the community.
Bill Plummer said he’s made reports about shopping buggies being dumped in locations in Queensborough, including ditches, to the city through the SeeClickFix app and calls to the engineering department.
“It wasn’t until I accosted the mayor on the street, then I got a response,” he said. “It was quick. I was very happy with that.”
But the problem persists, said Plummer, noting it’s not unusual to see a dozen discarded carts in a three-block section of Boyd Street in Queensborough. He appeared before city council on Jan. 14 to ask the city to consider a “cart containment bylaw” like those in place in some municipalities or to fine retailers whose carts are dumped in the community.
While it’s hard for people to take shopping carts from the Walmart in Royal City Centre, Plummer said it’s not as challenging in Queensborough.
“The one on Sixth Street has a cart containment system, so if you take the shopping cart off the property the wheels lock. The one in Queensborough has a system, but it’s not working,” he told council. “So what happens is people come and they then take carts off the property to go binning, then they go to the bottle depot. They get their money and then leave their carts there.”
According to Plummer, many of the carts are dumped along Boyd Street, which has a concrete barrier on one side of the sidewalk and a ditch on the other side. As a result, he said cyclists and pedestrians trying to travel through the area push the carts aside so they can get by – and they end up in the ditch.
Mayor Jonathan Cote said abandoned shopping carts are an issue in the city, but particularly in Queensborough. He said there is a cost to the city to have to have staff attend and pick up the carts, and suggested staff could look at “a little bit more aggressive” strategies that have been adopted in other communities.
“It’s not just a Queensborough issue. It happens in the uptown as well,” said Coun. Chuck Puchmayr. “Some of the stores have taken initiatives and put systems on that prevent the cart from travelling great distances; some haven’t.”
Puchmayr said the shopping carts are worth $400 to $500 each, but some retailers would rather buy a new one than pick them up when they’re taken off site.
Council directed the engineering department to consider policies that could address the issue. The city may also contact retailers that own some of the “problematic” carts.
