The City of Milwaukee has broadened its requirements for leaf collection this fall, after pushback to an announcement that residents would be required to bag leaves in an effort to prevent flooding.
Milwaukee residents and property owners will be able to either rake leaves into the street or bag them for curbside pickup.
In late April, the city announced it would transition to bagged leaf pickup in the fall and would implement a monthly street sweeping schedule on the city’s “exception streets” that allow parking on both sides.
In a shared statement on May 12, Common Council members Lamont Westmoreland and Scott Spiker said that they had reached a compromise with the city.
“Working with and communicating with Council members during the brainstorming and planning stages is a no-brainer,” the statement said. “It also helps avoid an unnecessary explosion of public frustration and the need to reverse course after major policy announcements are made.”
The city’s decision to change its leaf collection policy was in response to historic rainfall in Milwaukee in April and an attempt to combat leaf debris that can clog sewer drains and catch basins. Between April 1 and 28, Milwaukee logged 9.39 inches of rain, which surpassed its April record of 7.38 inches set in 2013.
At the time, Department of Public Works Commissioner Jerrel Kruschke told council members that the April storms had caused about 2.7 billion gallons of sewer water to flow into local waterways and Lake Michigan.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee backs away from plan to require bagging of leaves
Reporting by Vanessa Swales, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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