North End homeowner fed up with garbage piles in back lanes

A Winnipeg man says he's fed up with the garbage that continues topileup in back lanes near his home, and he wants his neighbours to domore to keep the area clean and safe.

Daniel Nemis was out for a walk on Saturday when he noticed a huge mess in the back lane of the 500 block of Manitoba Avenue. He said the bins were overflowing, and there was garbage everywhere.

"There was a horrendous amount of pileup of garbage, everything from clothes, food to actual garbage," Nemis said. "This has been ongoing. I would say this is one of the nastiest back lanes in Winnipeg."

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Nemissaid he called 311 on Saturdayand was told by the operatorthatthe owner of the Manitoba Avenuehome would be contacted by a city bylaw officerandhave 10 days to respond.

That's too long to wait for someone to clean up themess,Nemissaid. Some of the garbage was blown away in the wind storm on Monday, he said.

"This wouldn't last two seconds in Fort Garryor St.Vital orCharleswood. Basically, the area gets neglected," hesaid.

It's not the first time the back lane has been a problem, he said.

He and other neighbours complained to the city last March about overflowing binsand garbage piling up in the back lane, he said.

"It was scattered across the backyard.That's the way they want to live? Fine, but it brings down the value of my property, and it brings down the neighbourhood, I think."

There was so much garbage on Saturday, the mess extended into his driveway and his neighbour'syardon Pritchard Avenue, Nemis said.

He said he's also concerned about thechildren in the area whooften playin the back lanes.

"I've got broken glass still there on the back lane.I don't care to drive over that."

He wants people living in the area to do their part to keep the neighbourhood tidy, he said.

"I take pride in my property, like everyone in the North End, and I have great neighbours, but there's always somebody," he said."I suspect if you're in a rental, you're not someone that is going to have the same pride or motivation to keep your property clean."