UNIVERSITY CITY, Mo. — University City said they are 95% complete with overall storm debris clean from July's severe storms - parks are last on the cleanup list.
Marquise Williams and Victoria De La Guardia, residents of U City who visit Millar Park, said it's been a long time coming. Others said they wish the city would've communicated more about it.
"That's what hurts the most is the animals and then older people who come and walk it just wasn't truthfully safe," Williams said.
There is still tree debris (some bad or small) in Millar Park from the widespread July 1 storms.
Marquise Williams took a photo after the storms and said the walkways of the park were completely blocked.
Cleanup crews are on their final sweep this week. They focused on residential areas in the 1st and 2nd Ward to collect debris they instructed residents to place on their curbs.
"We understand that these are the same people that's taking care of our neighborhoods but then we're also trusting you to still do a little bit more so that we can also enjoy the rest of the city which is the parks," Williams said.
Other residents who frequently visit the park said the improvements have been gradual but would like more communication from the city.
"I think in the future it would be great to have some notification go out to the residents because we just didn't hear anything but then every couple of weeks there [were] just [fewer] branches," Victoria De La Guardia said.
De La Guardia, a resident for the last four years, said she understands the amount of debris city crews were in charge of but still believes the timeframe could've been faster.
"How do we coordinate cleaning all these branches in all these places in a timely manner? I think the timely manner part was a little bit tougher to coordinate," De La Guardia said.
The University City Public Works Department and director of Parks were not available to comment.
Leaders in the city posted a message on the University City website and stated that crews have been working each business day (weather permitting) and they understand the high volume of debris collection.