Uptown Dallas’ Front-Line Ambassadors Keep This District Beautiful and Cleaner Than Ever in These Coronavirus Times

This article is part of a promoted series and not produced by the editorial staff.

“When you think of front-line workers, you first think of health care providers, but there are so many people working hard to keep us all safe every day,” says Anita Simmons, director of marketing and communications for Uptown Dallas Inc.

“As a public improvement district, Uptown Dallas Inc. can enhance and improve everything in the public realm.” Some of those beautification efforts are more obvious than others, like the public art projects which have been installed. Others are equally appreciated, though rarely noticed.

Each year Uptown installs and maintains more than 30,000 flowers ― keeping the district colorful and blooming year round. The organization helps maintain the area’s shady and green appearance as well, through its 50/50 programs, which plants trees in partnership with land owners. In 2018, they planted eight trees, and in 2019 they planted nine.

The magnificent amenity of Griggs Park is under Uptown Dallas Inc.’s purview as well. The sprawling eight acre neighborhood park, which was established in 1915, now has walking trails, a basketball court and playground ― as well as shady benches to enjoy. The skyline view of downtown Dallas from Griggs Park is unsurpassed.

Uptown is a lovely area to stroll, but it all has to be maintained and cleaned ― now more than ever. In these coronavirus times, you’d be amazed by what all goes on behind the scenes to keep the public safe and all of Uptown’s amenities sanitized. Uptown has risen to the occasion with enhanced practices and specialized cleaning products.

“You don’t realize how many surfaces you touch on a daily basis,” Simmons says. From the handles you use hopping on and off the trolley, to crosswalk buttons and park benches ― everything now all gets a more consistent and targeted cleaning than ever.

The Uptown District has been working with Block by Block Ambassadors since 2016. The staff is hired and specifically trained to walk every inch of Uptown, each and every day, with a critical eye for improving the experience of the district’s residents and businesses. These ambassadors are truly the unsung front-line workers, keeping us all safe and healthy. 

“We’ve seen the benefit of their services since day one, their importance has never been more imperative than in today’s world, battling this pandemic,” Simmons notes.

The Ambassadors clean up 361,000 pounds of trash every year. Without their meticulous eye for detail, you’d be wading through gum wrappers and soda cans.

These are the things that go unnoticed, because they’re NOT there. Block by Block makes those clean Uptown streets a reality.

In fact, so many of the things that you don’t see in Uptown, are thanks to these Ambassadors. They are on the front lines not only removing germs and viruses from surfaces, but doing much more. The Ambassadors also remove layers of graffiti (which have been popping up more regularly during times of Covid-19 boredom), the grime on high touch points, which they regularly power wash to freshen. The Ambassadors also round up those abandoned electric scooters that so often litter city streets ― inhibiting mobility.

To say these heroes work behind the scenes and out of the spotlight is very true. But there is also no doubt that their work is beyond essential. Without the daily, tireless efforts of Uptown’s Block by Block Ambassadors, this beloved neighborhood would look and feel very different.

“While it’s a tough job adjusting to all the new cleaning protocols, it has also been an opportunity for creativity in how we think about our environment and our community,” Simmons says.

Uptown Dallas Inc. salutes its Block by Block Ambassadors, who are on the front lines every day, providing the neighborhood’s residents and businesses with a safe and clean place to live and work. That’s worth saluting. In these times — and in any times.

For more information on the Uptown Dallas difference, check out UptownDallas.net.