Don’t Leave Leaves In The Street City Crews Ahead Of Schedule Now That Pickup Includes Only Leaves That Fall Naturally In The Street
City crews are moving through Spokane this month trying to sort the leaves that have fallen naturally from the ones homeowners have raked into the street.
A $330,000 curbside leaf pickup program was canceled this year, but crews have begun picking up the leaves that normally fall into the street.
Yet some residents are still pushing leaves from their yards into the street.
“We’ve had a few problems,” said city engineer Jim Smith. “If we see them, we’ve been sending a supervisor through the neighborhood, trying to get them to remove their leaves.”
Smith said most people have complied. He said they could be billed if they persist in putting their leaves out.
The City Council voted unanimously to disband the program after four gripe-filled years. The city expects to save $226,000 by cutting it.
For four years, leaves were piled in the street too early, blocking traffic and clogging drains. They got wet, mushy and froze into a slick, messy hazard. Leaf crews fell behind often.
“Last year we didn’t get done until after Christmas,” Smith said. “Some of the leaves were frozen to the ground.”
Already this year, crews have done the Downriver and Audubon areas. This week, they worked the area south of Northwest Boulevard, north of Maxwell, east of Pettit Drive and west of Monroe.
“We’re about a week ahead of schedule,” Smith said.
Lawn-care businesses say they haven’t seen an increase in business from people looking to get rid of leaves.
“We used to do the same thing,” said Mark Davis, owner of AAA Lawn Care. “We’d just rake them into the street, too. In fact, I still see people doing that.”
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MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: COST CUTTING The City Council voted unanimously to disband leaf pickup program after four years. The city expects to save $226,000.