SEBATIAN – A Roseland group is looking to residents of the City of Sebastian to clean up the city’s portion of Roseland Road from the Sebastian Municipal Airport to County Road 512.
Roy Woodall, president of the Friends of Historic Roseland Road, is on a mission to free Roseland Road from discarded fast food cartons, blown out tires, and decayed stuffed animals. He went before the Sebastian City Council earlier this month to ask the public’s help in scouring the roadway. Recalling the council’s concern for how the road looks along the airport when they discussed establishing a natural buffer, Woodall said, “My wife and I immediately noted a lot of litter on Roseland Road.”
After the council meeting, Woodall said he is continuing the search for individuals or groups who would like to adopt the 2-mile stretch of road from Airport Drive to County Road 512.
Two groups might decide to take on one mile each, though, Woodall said.
“A mile is quite a bit to keep clean,” he said.
Woodall and the Historic Roseland Road group have participated in road cleanups through Keep Indian River Beautiful’s annual cleaning event. However, it’s not enough, he told the Sebastian City Council.
“I feel it should be done more frequently,” he said.
The group has already adopted a portion of Roseland Road that runs through their community and has lined up others to scour other sections.
One such group includes folk singer Arlo Guthrie and friends, who have told Woodall they would take care of Roseland Road near Indian River Drive.
Woodall said that adopting the roadway would require regular cleanups on a quarterly basis. Ideally, he said he’d like to coordinate all the groups to clean on the same weekend so the entire stretch of Roseland Road would be free from trash at the same time.
In between cleanings, Woodall said the adoption group or individual could still collect trash.
He explained that he drives Roseland Road frequently and stops to pick up pieces of trash as he sees them.
“It just takes you a second,” he said, though he’s not the only one picking up trash in between regular clean ups. His wife, Donna, is also involved. “She’s out there cleaning a lot.”
Anyone interested in adopting a portion of Roseland Road for cleanup can call Woodall at (772) 581-5777 or the Indian River County Traffic Engineering Division at (772) 226-1637. Those who adopt a roadway get a roadside sign recognizing their efforts.
Other roads in the county are also available for adoption. Anyone interested in adopting other roads can call the county.
