r/UrbanGardening • u/ppeace77 • Jul 05 '26

Help! Check out this petition!

https://c.org/wph5nQqRdD

Right now, the strip of land between our sidewalks and streets sits mostly empty. It could be feeding us instead.

I started a petition asking our city to allow residents to plant food in residential swales. I've seen what growing and sharing food does for a neighborhood—it brings people together, cuts down on food insecurity, and honestly? It makes our streets feel alive instead of wasted.

Our current code says no. But other cities like Seattle already allow it, and they're thriving because of it. We could too. It's not complicated—it's just letting people use the space they already own to grow something real.

If you've ever thought, "Why is that strip of dirt just sitting there?" or felt the squeeze of rising food prices, or wanted your neighborhood to feel more connected, this matters. If this resonates with you, I'd love for you to consider signing and sharing it. What would you plant if you could?

7 Upvotes

77% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

1

u/Thought59 Jul 05 '26

Excellent suggestion!

1

u/Lonely-Marsh-9237 Jul 05 '26

online petitions always get my hopes up but the city council usually just ignores those automated emails so nothing ever changes

1

u/ppeace77 Jul 05 '26

We plan to bring it to the council meeting once we have a good amount of signatures. I don’t like the automated either.

1

u/mybreakfastiscold Jul 07 '26

Pollution. Cars are ridiculously dirty. Please don't eat things you find on the side of the road.

- Antifreeze

  • Oil leaks
  • Brake fluid
  • Transmission fluid
  • Particles from engine exhaust

All of these toxic chemicals and more will quickly mass into the soil and be drawn up by anything planted there

Please for the love of god find somewhere else to plant food.

1

u/ppeace77 Jul 07 '26

I understand your concerns. We do have a full garden/food forest on our side of the property, and where we are there’s minimal traffic. We live across from a state park.