The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Leaf removal to begin Nov. 2
Residents asked to rake leaves to curb
Lorain street crews will head out Nov. 2 to begin this year’s round of leaf collection in the city.
Residents should rake their leaves to the curb, but not in the street.
Also, residents should not park cars in front of or near the piled leaves.
City workers cannot maneuver the trucks and leaf trailers onto lawns to get leaves piled behind cars or trucks.
“The biggest thing we run into is parked cars in the street,” said city Public Property Manager Lori Garcia. “If there’s a car parked in front, we’re not going to”grab those leaves; we can’t grab those leaves.”
The city will have four trucks, with two dedicated to Lorain’s west side, and one each on the east side and South Lorain.
Crews are expected out daily, weather permitting.
The trailer-mounted vacuum trucks cannot pick up heavy leaves drenched from rain.
There is not a set schedule for crews to work on a particular street on a particular day because of variable weather and the amount of leaves per street, Garcia said.
“That’s why we’re saying we will have a truck in four different areas of the city, Monday through Friday,” she said.
They will make rounds as needed.
Anyone who has raked leaves and needs a pickup, can call 440-204-2525 and
a crew will make it out within a week, weather permitting.
The city announcement offered additional safety tips:
• Do not allow children to play in leaves piled near the street or curb.
• Do not place branches or other debris in leaf piles; that can damage city equipment.
Leaf collection is scheduled to continue through Dec. 1, although that has gone longer the last two years, depending on when the leaves fall and when city crews must begin salting streets and plowing snow due to wintry conditions.
Last year, Lorain began using two new Spartan Leaf Pro Plus machines that made leaf collection much more efficient, Garcia has said.
Those will be part of the fleet of trucks and implements for leaf pickup this year.