To kick off National Bike to Work Week (May 17–23), Clerk Treasurer Adam Scharf and Mayor Jeremy Stutsman are inviting the public to a bike ride Friday, May 14 at 4:30 p.m.

Join the Clerk Treasurer, Mayor and City staff on the parking lot east of City Hall, 202 S. Fifth St. Some bike safety information will be shared by Patrol Officer Tom Fuller. The group will be led down several blocks around downtown before returning back to City Hall. The ride is free, open to any interested riders, and no advanced registration is necessary.

To learn more about National Bike to Work Week, go to https://bikeleague.org/bikemonth

As a Goshen resident you are invited to call and reserve a free bare-root tree in honor of Arbor Day.

The Arbor Day celebration is one of many activities that the City of Goshen’s Tree Board plans each year. The resident-based Tree Board was established over 20 years ago to promote the value of trees and encourage tree planting and preservation. This year the Tree Board will give away 300 trees to be planted on Goshen properties as a part of Arbor Day celebrations. You can request an American Hazelnut, White Dogwood, American Persimmon, American Sycamore, or a Tuliptree.

Trees provide many benefits to humans and to wildlife. Trees can add curb appeal and increase a property’s livability by lowering the summertime temperatures of homes, patios, driveways, and sidewalks. A large mature tree can absorb significant amounts of stormwater to help reduce localized flooding. Trees also provide food and habitat for birds and small wildlife.

If you have any questions, please contact us at the Department of Environmental Resilience, 574-534-0076 or environmental@goshencity.com.

In conjunction with the Goshen Chamber of Commerce’s “Beautify Goshen” Week, the Goshen Street Department will be making additional disposal services available to assist city residents in their “Beautify Goshen” tasks.

This free service is offered only during the first full week in May (an eight-day week with two Saturdays), and there is no limit to the quantity of items that may be disposed. Residents must make arrangements to transport the items; there will not be curbside pickup.  Because this free service is paid by the tax dollars of Goshen city residents, only City residents are allowed to dispose of items.  IDs will be checked to verify residency.

The collection site will be the Goshen Street Department located at 475 Steury Ave.  Hours that items will be accepted are as follows:

• Saturday, May 1 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Sunday, May 2: CLOSED
• Monday––Friday, May 3 to May 7  from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Saturday, May 8 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

In order to keep disallowed items from entering the waste stream, the Street Department will have a crew member on hand at all times monitoring the items being accepted. Items that can be disposed of are:

• Non-hazardous refuse, such as furniture, carpeting, lumber, dry wall, metal and vinyl siding, windows, fiberglass insulation, mattresses, stoves, landscape timbers, bricks, etc.
• White goods, such as refrigerators, air conditioners, freezers, dehumidifiers, etc.; the Freon does not have to be removed
• Electronic waste, such as computers, home phones, televisions, etc.
• Tires up to 16½”, either on or off their rims

The following items will not be accepted during this large-item disposal:

• Pesticides or herbicides (insect or weed killers)
• Unlabeled drums containing any substance
• Sealed pressurized containers (propane tanks, etc.)
• Paint thinners, oil base or water base paint
• Brush and yard waste
• Asbestos insulation
• Contaminated soil

During the other 51 weeks of the year, Goshen residents may place one or two large items per month with their regular weekly trash for removal. (This does not include electronics, old tube-type televisions or any cooling appliances containing Freon or any of the items not accepted in the Beautify Goshen disposal.) For details of the year-long, large-item disposal, contact Borden Waste-Away at (574) 293-5001.

The Goshen Street Department will begin its spring brush and leaf collection on April 26th and it will run until May 8th.
During this first collection the street department will pick up both leaves and brush. Please have the brush and leaves out before the start date to ensure pick up.

Because of the large amount of brush and leaves usually placed out for this first pick up, it tends to take longer for the crews to make their rounds. Residents are to have their leaves and brush placed at the curb, but not in the street so as to not cause a road hazard or hinder water drainage.

Do not place brush or trash on or in leaf piles. Leaf and brush piles placed in alleyways will not be picked up. Do not place piles around fire hydrants, mail boxes or telephone poles.

Feel free to call the Street Department if you have questions at 574-534-9711.

More information at goshenindiana.org/street-department

Olive Street will be closed north of Lincoln Avenue from Tuesday, April 20, until Friday, April 23, 2021. The closure is necessary for NIPSCO crews and a contractor to full retire an existing gas main. The closure may be delayed due to the weather.

There will be lane restrictions along Kercher Road between Messick Drive and the railroad tracks to the west beginning Tuesday, April 20 through April 27, pending weather.

The lane restrictions will allow for the installation of a new fiber optic conduit for Surf Broadband.

Traffic controls will include signs, cones and flaggers as required.