Canopy to be erected to catch pigeon poop

KANSAS CITY, Mo., July 28 (UPI) -- Community leaders in Kansas City, Mo., say they will suspend a fabric canopy under a highway to catch pigeon waste to try to keep a sidewalk clean.

A joint project of the Crossroads Community Association and the Kansas City Design Center, the canopy is intended to be hung under the Interstate 35 bridge over Southwest Boulevard, a popular roosting spot for pigeons that slime the sidewalk, making it difficult for pedestrians traversing the Crossroads Arts District, The Kansas City Star reported.

Officials say they have tried just about every other method to rid themselves of the mess-creating birds from predators to chemicals, but the pigeons are still dropping feces from bridge girders 20 feet down to the pavement, the newspaper said Tuesday.

"I don't think there will ever be a 100 percent solution," David Morris, a past president of the Crossroads association said. "It has to be a combination of a lot of things."

The proposed canopy would be illuminated at night for safety and artistic effect and would have a slick tilted surface intended to discourage birds from perching on it, the Star said.

The canopy is not intended to keep pigeons from the girders and dropping their waste, but it could catch the mess and be washed off, Morris said.