Many streets within the City of Auburn could use litter pick up and a little tender loving care. On Monday the Auburn City Council approved two programs that will match streets with the people who love them.

Adopt-a-Road is a litter control program that jurisdictions such as King, Pierce and Thurston counties and the cities of Tacoma and Sammamish use to down on roadside litter. Volunteers pick up litter along an assigned stretch of road. Generally, the city or county provides the supplies and collects and disposes of the bags. Some jurisdictions post signs to honor their volunteers.

Adopt-a-Spot is the same type of program but on a smaller scale. Volunteers may adopt traffic circles, median strips, ditches, parks or playgrounds and plant vegetation. This program may be expanded to include city-owned areas hit by graffiti.

“There a lot of other jurisdictions that have Adopt-a- Road, and some have Adopt-a Spot,” said Amber Mund, an engineering aid with Auburn’s Public Works Department who developed the city’s program. “Basically this is the two programs wrapped into one.”

Most jurisdictions have a two-year commitment agreement, hold harmless language and basic safety training requirements. The program doesn’t

cost the volunteers anything.

The program will be city wide. Basically, citizens can find an area they want to clean up. They sign an agreement that specifies they will clean up the area a couple times each year. The program is completely volunteer, so all it will cost volunteers is their time. The city will provide litter bags and signs and pick up the full bags once the volunteers are finished. Th recently- annexed areas of West and Lea Hill have eight sections of road that had already been adopted by volunteers. Earlier this year, Auburn’s newest citizens asked if the city had such a program, because if it did, they wanted to continue it.

Most jurisdictions ask for two years of volunteer services and most assign their adopt-a-road volunteers a one mile stretch of road, but that varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

“The average cost of the program is $3,000 and $6,000 a year, and that’s mostly in bags used and the costs of disposing of the litter,” Mund said.

People interested in the program may contact Mund at (253) 804-3120.