The weather is changing quickly so I guess it’s time to get out the warmer coats, sweaters, rakes and my leaf blower. I do love fall though, both college and pro football in full swing, basketball about to start, and trick or treat right around the corner. Fall also brings leaf pickup and due to changes in the process this year, my phone’s been ringing off the hook. So let’s have a frank discussion about this new program,
First change is that we’re not to rake our leaves in the street anymore , please leave them on the devilstrip. If you don’t have a devilstrip, rake or blow them to the edge of your grass. Why the change? Well, large leaf piles in the street make it dangerous for drivers and in areas where there’s no sidewalks, it’s dangerous for those walking or running in the street. Leaves in the street end up blocking sewer inlets, and the leachate from the leaves is harmful to our sewer system. I’ve detailed some of the investments made into our sewer system in this newsletter, and we don’t want to incur more costs by further damaging the system. Lastly, when it snows over leaves in the street, it makes plowing even more difficult with leaves ending up piled back in yards. So please don’t rake/blow your leaves into the street, and if you pay to have them done, remind workers to keep them out of the .
Now about the schedule, yeah, the one without any dates? I realize it’s frustrating but it does have a start date of November 9 in Ward 5 and there is an order by Ward, but no scheduled dates. Why not, you ask? Well, have we ever kept to the dates after the first two wards on those schedules? The answer is no, because it always takes longer and Mother Nature plays a huge part with early snow, sleet and ice. I have spoken with the Service Director who thinks crews will be in Ward 8 around Thanksgiving weekend, so let’s use that as a guide. We’re 7th on the list right after Ward 4, and once they start picking up there, I’ll put out a reminder by email and on social media to get those leaves to the devilstrip . You can also track progress online leaf tracker . Here’s a link to check status of our crews: https://city-of-akron-leaf-collection-operations-akrongis.hub.arcgis.com/#scheduleprogress
Halloween and Trick or Treat in Akron is scheduled citywide on Saturday, October 31, from 5-7pm. Turn your porch light on to participate and if you’re out driving, please watch out for children in the streets.
I hope you’ll join us at our October Ward 8 meeting this Wednesday 6-7:30pm at the Northwest Family Recreation Center, 1730 Shatto Ave. APD Officer Aaron Brown will start things off and Akron’s Chief of Public Safety Craig Morgan will discuss Akron’s Flock Cameras. I’m sure there will be questions s this is a hot topic, and I’m sure Craig will take time to answer them. Hope to see you Wednesday Evening at 6:00pm!