Local News
Cedar Rapids: Keep leaves out of the streets
Posted on Nov 03, 2009 by admin.
One of the city of Cedar Rapids new vacuum leaf collection trucks. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
Cedar Rapids officials are reminding residents to keep leaves out of the streets this fall, as the city’s new leaf-vacuuming trucks roam the roads — and they’re promising to start charging property owners extra for leaves piled in the street.
Here’s the news release issued by the city today:
The loose leaf vacuum collection program is entering its fifth successful week of operation. Vacuum crews collected over 1,306 tons of leaves during week four, with daily collection well over 327 tons. To date, 2,070 tons of leaves have been vacuumed up and delivered to the Cedar Rapids Linn County Solid Waste Agency’s Compost site on A Street SW.
The implementation of this program has meant that instead of placing leaves in the street, residents are now asked to keep their leaf piles on the parking area or grass by the edge of the road. This change makes it easier for crews to pick up the leaves, but also creates safer streets. By moving the leaves onto the grass or parking area, it prevents the following:
1. Children playing in piles on the street increasing the risk of serious accidents.
2. Wet and compacted leaves on the streets creating slick conditions for motorists.
3. Traffic pulling out into the oncoming lane to avoid the piles of leaves.
4. Fires that result from a car’s hot catalytic converter igniting the leaves.
Over the past few weeks, vacuum truck crews have been collecting piles of leaves placed in the street as a courtesy and to minimize the problems the leaves pose when placed in the street. Starting the week of Nov. 16, city collection crews will begin leaving piles of leaves placed in the street and will treat the piles as a Nuisance Abatement. When the City removes a nuisance, the costs associated with the work will be assessed against the property owner.
The City of Cedar Rapids Solid Waste and Recycling Division is pleased with the enthusiastic and positive response from our customers. Here are a couple of tips that will help us all adjust to the new program
Placing leaves in long rows, parallel to the street, allows the trucks to pick up the leaves more quickly
The trucks cannot pick up leaf piles blocked by parked vehicles. If a vehicle is blocking a leaf pile, the pick up will be postponed to the next week
Loose leaves MUST be free of brush and branches. Brush and branches will plug the vacuum hoses and slow down or delay vacuum collection. If piles are mixed, the leaves will not get collected and crews will not come back until the next scheduled collection. Please use the YARDY cart for brush and or branches. Brush and branches can not stick out over the top of the YARDY and the YARDY lid MUST close completely. If you have extra brush and branches, bundle and tie them with bio-degradable twine or cord (no wire or nylon cord) into bundles NO larger than 3 feet long by 2 feet in diameter. Each bundle cannot exceed 40 pounds. Place bundled brush and branches beside the YARDY cart.
The crews are working long hours to complete the routes and pick up the leaves. If they have not been to your home by the usual time, please be patient as they may get to you later that day or the next
The loose leaf collection service is scheduled to run until Dec. 11, weather permitting.
Yet another way the city has found to charge people…
And I hope they do.
so ????
people have had plenty of information regarding what they need to do with the leaves !! Why should they be able to do whatever they want, when the majority do what they are suppose to. If they get charged, so be it, abide by what needs to be done and you wont have to put out any money because you are ignorant !!
It was STILL a little confusing WHERE exactly the leaves were supposed to go. Excuse me for not being nearly as perfect as you are Maxine.
how can it be confusing, on the curb means on the curb !!!
and excuse me, I never said I was perfect, I am just tired of people playing the "stupid"card all the time and getting away with it !! That is what is wrong with this society, nobody takes accountability !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
not perfect never said I was, but what is confusing ?? The curb is the curb, the street is the street !!
just get the leaves picked up with our tax paid for equipment. If some are in the street, blame it on the wind.
perfect example !!
Yeah, and ENTIRE line of leaves is blown into the street. I can imagine a few strays, but not a whole yard worth.
Every time the city gets on their high horse they start talking about fining, assessing etc., the public. How would the city like it if every time we talked to them we would tell them that we may sue them. There has to be a better way, but there probably isn't. So, what is fair for the goose is fair for the gander. Every time we talk to the city don't forget to mention that we may sue them. If this is the culture that they only know and keep perpetuating than so be it. The city makes mistakes too and sometimes more deliberate than other times. There has to be a better way to treat one another.
The wind blows the leaves for days down my street and they accumulate around the storm sewers. Is it the city's job to get those leave or what? The leaves could be traveling at 10 mph or more sometimes!
so the city wont let us burn our leaves (the greener solution then a truck pickup) and now they think they are going to charge me when leaves blow into the street. good luck collecting that.
I got an idea, pick them up more than once a freaking week. In my neighborhood there's so many leaves they will fall into the street no matter what. If they charged me, I'd whiz on the ticket and send it back.
Everyone has a busy life. We all have the responsibilty to pay attention to laws or regulations when they are revised or implemented. I live at the bottom of a hill and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out where all these gutter leaves go when it rains. Even before our new collection routine, I never placed leaves near the curb, on the curb or in the street until I knew the city crews were active. I have witnessed what happens to the storm sewers when the rains come and the leaves created a giant puddle resulting in a traffic hazzard. I have a few neighbors who still insist on racking leaves right into the street. If we all do our share then our neighborhood becomes a much better place, doesn't it?
For all of those that have the leaf pick-up service please recognize what a great service it is and all you need to do is to follow the rules. Those of us that live just outside of the city limits do not get this service plus we've been banned from burning our leaves as we've done in the past. Take the time to find out the rules before you use the service, follow the rules, and be glad it is available to you.
Does this include Johnson Elementary School, which has a whole line of leaves along the curb from 17th to 18th St. on Park? If so, who pays? Seeing as the school is taxpayer-owned, so to speak, is Streets going to increase our taxes for this? Or will it all be ignored, as it's a "public" place as opposed to private property? Why not take the fees out of the Principal's pay…?
Be glad you don't live in Williamsburg. We have to put ALL our leaves in black pastic bags only. Try putting a yard full of leaves in plastic bags. Our entire town is lined with hundreds of bags full of leaves.
Hey – I used to live in Burlington and you aren't even allowed plastic bags there. You have to purchase those heavy duty paper bags. That is the only way to remove the leaves there. Put them in the paper bags or leave them in your yard. Your choice. It's nice to have leaf pick up and I appreciate it, too.
Holy crap-the city trying to make people responsible for their messes! What a travesty! Next thing you know, they will expect us to cut our own grass. I pay taxes and I expect the city to wipe my a@#.
The leaves have accumulated in the storm sewer. The leaves clog the storm sewer. Then the storm sewer backs up when it rains. Then water floods peoples basement. Since everyone seems to be opposed to taxes, the infrastructure that our city is built upon is crumbling faster than a sand-castle during a storm.
If you want to live in anarchy without any city services move to Alabama, let me know how you like it. I like clean water in my faucet. I like it when my toilet flushes. I like it when the police department arrives quickly when I call. These things all come from taxes. If you don't pay them, or limit them to numbers under inflation evantually you will be without service.
Some people do not spend the whole day in front of the TV, computer or reading every page of the paper. Some people have kids and spend time out doing their yard work. I will be out raking my leaves back into my yard because I thought I was doing what was right, as it has been in the past. At least I was trying to keep the neighborhood looking nice. I admit I didn't know, but I definitely did not do it on purpose. So, stop lumping people with busy lives into those people who are ignorant.
Good response. I feel bad for the people I see raking the leaves into the street. I'm sure they aren't doing it to be a nuisance. They are doing it because they don't know better. We don't seem to have a good way to get this information out to the citizens, do we? I can't spend time in front of the TV, and if the paper carried leaf raking information I wouldn't know what page to find it on.