Leaf Policy Lunacy

Have you driven around Port in the last couple of weeks, when all of a sudden, either you or a driver from the opposite direction, had to swerve a little towards the middle of the road, in order to avoid a deep pile of leaves? Many parts of the area have leaf pickup policies that encourage people to sweep or blow their leaves towards the curb, for those leaves to be picked up on a leaf removal scheduled date. Unlike some other areas that require bagging leaves, many areas around here have decided that it is far better for the environment to eliminate all those plastic bags going into the landfill. While that is most admirable, some other areas either circulate or sell biodegradeable bags to be used for this purpose.

Why should we even care about this? After all, it is only during an approximately five-week period from the end of October to early December. What possible harm can the present method cause? You might think that if the system remains the way it is, it's no big deal. Or is it?

Some food for thought:

1. Leaving piles on the road can be potentially dangerous, both to drivers as well as pedestrians. It obstructs part of the road, can be extremely slippery and treacherous when wet (or even more dangerous if icy). We can't be sure what's under the pile, or in the pile that may be sharp, or fly up, etc.

2. These piles keep blowing all over the place. When there are big gusts of wind, other challenges occur.

3. This is a costly procedure. Think of the additional time and labor needed to suck these leaves into the trucks, as opposed to simply picking up bags. In addition to extra time and labor, there is also the additional fuel used to do these tasks, so much of the supposed environmental advantage is also mitigated.

4. Each village/ area has slightly different guidelines. For example, the Village of Baxter Estates circulates these instructions: "LEAF REMOVAL will commence on October 31, 2011. Weather permitting, leaves will be removed on either Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. Place leaves at the CURB and EDGE of your lawn for pickup. Branches must be separated from leaves, tied, and placed out for Monday. Please do not place leaves beyond curbing into the roadway. After December 7, no leaves are allowed to be placed at curb. All leaves must be bagged for pick up on Monday by Meadow Carting. Placing leaves on roadway after allocated time is a violation of New York State law and will be strictly enforced." Think about these instructions and then observe what occurs. Walking around, it is NOT unusual to see leaves more than five feet into the road, and sometimes on both sides of the street. Because of weather, some weeks there are no pickups, and leaves remain on road for an even more extended period. Often, people park in the street, and thus, some of these piles are not removed during the leaf removal. The rules are rarely enforced, and I have yet to see the piles separated.

5. Since many areas do not have sidewalks, children walking to catch their school buses either play in the leaves, or walk further in the middle of the street, with obvious potential dangers. Since the leaves blow from these piles into other areas of the street, when there are wet conditions, there are even more dangers and potential hazards.

The number one factor in any decision should always and must be safety. Isn't it about time for us to be proactive, so that this will be the last leaf removal season following these types of guidelines? Must there be an accident, a fall, an injury or worse before changes are made? Like most things, there won't be changes until enough people demand them!