Residential Street Sweeping Ends Oct. 31st, Leaf Collection Starts Nov. 7

Photo by PoPville flickr user ekelly80

From a press release:

“WEEKLY RESIDENTIAL STREET SWEEPING ENDS MONDAY, OCT. 31;
LEAF COLLECTION SEASON BEGINS MON., NOV. 7

(Washington, DC) The DC Department of Public Works (DPW) announced today that weekly residential mechanical street cleaning will end for the season Monday, October 31, 2011. “No Parking/Street Cleaning” restrictions will be lifted and motorists may park on posted, alternate-side, daytime sweeping routes without moving their cars on street-cleaning days. Residential street sweeping will resume March 1, weather permitting.

Residential street sweeping is suspended for public safety concerns and to allow the employees to transition to leaf collection duties, which start November 7. The sweepers release a fine spray of water to control the dust as they sweep. When the temperature is at freezing or below, the spray can freeze and cause accidents to vehicles and pedestrians.

Overnight sweeping along the District’s major roadways, e.g., Pennsylvania, Georgia, Constitution, and Independence avenues, will continue all winter, as weather permits. Motorists should obey the street sweeping signs posted along these streets.

By suspending the street sweeping program, DPW personnel can focus on leaf collection, which begins November 7, as well as the upcoming snow removal season. The 2011-2012 leaf collection season begins November 7, 2011 and will run through January 14, 2012. Leaves will be removed from treeboxes at least twice. Loose leaves raked into the treeboxes or bagged leaves placed there will be collected and composted.

New brochures announcing the fall/winter leaf collection season were mailed to residents in October. The 2011-2012 leaf collection schedule also can be found by visiting www.dpw.dc.gov, selecting “Education and Outreach” and then “Brochures and Fact Sheets.”

For those who are super interested:

DPW To Discuss Leaf Season During Live, Online Chat, Wed., Oct. 26, at 1 PM

The Department of Public Works Street and Alley Cleaning Division will discuss how to prepare for leaf collection season and answer residents’ questions during a live, online chat Wednesday, October 26, 2011, from 1 pm – 2 pm.

To participate in the session once it has begun, place dpw.dc.gov/livechat into the search browser or visit www.dpw.dc.gov and select the “Chat Live” icon up at the top of DPW’s homepage. Transcripts of all chat sessions can be reviewed after the session by following the same instructions listed above to join the discussion.