Leaf pickup was paused this week after the city got close to two feet of snow Monday and early Tuesday. Piles of leaves got covered in snow and are now out of sight. Between Monday, Nov. 18, and Thanksgiving Day, the Street Department will continue collecting leaves, working extra hours to collect as much as they can.
Please help the crews out by uncovering piles of leaves or re-piling your leaves. When raking leaves, remember:
- Rake leaves into long piles on the grass next to the street or sidewalk beside the curb, not more than 6 feet from the curb.
- For the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists, if you must pile leaves on the sidewalk, please leave as wide a walking path as possible.
- Leaves must be kept out of the street.
- The piles of leaves interfere with the flow of traffic.
- Residents and property owners that have a storm drain in front of their property are asked to keep the drain area clear of leaves. This will help reduce the chances of water backing up on City streets.
- When finished raking, spraying the piles down with water will help keep them from blowing away during periods of high wind.
- Bagged leaves will be collected, but it slows the city-wide collection down drastically. The leaf vac crew has to empty the bags out in order to vacuum up the leaves and they will leave the bags on the property.
- Do not place leaves in the alley—they will not be removed.
- Do not put sticks, twigs and other trash into or on top of the leaf piles. These items can damage the vacuum equipment and force crews to pluck these items from the leaves—another time-consuming task.
On parking:
- Never park over a leaf pile. A hot catalytic converter can easily ignite the dry leaves and, in turn, your vehicle.
- Please do not park cars in front of leaf piles. The crews will not be able to collect the leaves.
- Park cars with at least 15 feet between leaf piles and vehicles.
- Please use off street parking during this time if available.