Mayor Paul Winfield said the majority of Vicksburg residents who live along Washington Street between Bowmar Avenue and Lee want to see the 20 flower beds constructed in outside lanes removed, and he agrees.

“They find it an inconvenience because it narrows the roadway so much. At the same time, a number of people have complained about ruining their tires by hitting them,” Winfield said Thursday. “My intention is to pop those things back out.”

The flower beds were one of many beautification efforts by former Mayor Laurence Leyens, who was ousted by Winfield in the June 2 general election after serving two terms. They were built inhouse by the road and landscaping departments, and materials cost about $35,000, Winfield said.

“We haven’t gotten a price yet” on what it would cost to remove the flower beds, Winfield said. “I don’t think the cost would be as great as it was to put them in, but there is going to be some time and cost involved.”

Winfield said his staff is looking into whether or not the beds can legally be removed, as they were paid for with a portion of the $16.9 million bond issue approved by the Leyens administration in 2007 to spruce up Oak Street, build a recreation facility on Fisher Ferry Road and complete the Washington Street bridge project at Clark Street.

At least one Washington Street resident is not happy about the prospect of the flower beds being removed. David Day lives in the 3200 block of Washington and said the bed that’s been in front of his home for the past six months has done wonders for quality of life on Washington Street.

“It would be a big step backward” if they were removed, said Day, who stressed he otherwise agrees with Winfield’s vision for Vicksburg. “There’s many things I like about them. For one, traffic has slowed down drastically — people finally realize this is a residential area. Number two: they look good, and they’ve really improved the aesthetics of the area. And three: Washington Street is a main corridor for our tourists, and I just think we need to continue beautifying it as much as we can.”

Half of the flower beds measure about 15-feet-by-8-feet, while the rest are longer and more narrow. Half are filled with flowers and small trees, while the rest are filled with dirt and weeds.

“The last group we did were completed right around the general election, and when the new administration came in we heard they wanted to take them out and we quit planting,” said Jeff Richardson, the city’s staff landscaping architect, who noted a streak of abnormally hot and dry weather in June also prevented some additional planting across the city.

Other than the beds on Washington Street between Bowmar Avenue and Lee Street, Winfield said he is committed to maintaining the many flower beds — including those on downtown Washington Street — and other beautification efforts the Leyens administration established. However, he said there will likely be cuts in the landscaping department when the new budget is unveiled this month.

“We fully intend to maintain what we have,” he said. “I’m all for beautification; however, I also understand a crepe myrtle doesn’t mean a whole lot to an empty stomach. There’s going to have to be some reduction (in landscaping). Our financial situation is not good and we have a lot more serious issues to address.”

Winfield said beautification efforts he hopes to spearhead include planting more trees in the Kings area as well as the neighborhoods near Cedar Hill Cemetery, which he hopes to fund via grants.

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Contact Steve Sanoski at ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com