The City of Reno has six street sweepers and one large vacuum trailer that are out cleaning leaves on scheduled routes.
They want to remind the community that it's illegal to blow your leaves out into the street. They ask instead that you bag up your own leaves and use them as a mulch, or compost, to get rid of the leaves on your own property.
Matt Bow, the Maintenance and Operations Crew Supervisor, explains how leaves left in the street can cause an array of issues.
"Leaves will get into the storm drains and clog them up, cover storm grates, and cause localized flooding when the rain and snow come."
If you don't follow the city's advice, it can be extremely difficult for them to clean our drain systems... as the city has many miles of storm drain pipes, and if they get clogged up, there will be a huge problem.
They clean the streets on a monthly schedule, so every street is cleaned once a month in the city.
If you are getting rid of the leaves yourself, here are some tips....
Bow goes on to say, "They should bag up the leaves that are on their street, rake them up, and bag them up. Waste management offers excess waste stickers that they should send to each of their customers."
He also gives some advice on how to be more helpful.
"To help us out, if you could trim your trees away from the curb line and remove your vehicle on your sweeping day and any other objects that could get in the way of the sweeper and the curb line, that would greatly assist."
Plus a friendly reminder...
"Our equipment is very interesting and cool to watch, but we do ask that you keep a safe distance away, give us room to operate, and keep in mind we will make frequent stops with those things and sudden swings."
There is also a map you can check out to know when the street sweepers are coming your way. You can check it out by clicking the link here.
