EAST LANSING, Mich. – The East Lansing Department of Public Works (DPW) has extended fall bulk leaf collection on the City of East Lansing’s east side, with a fourth week of collection scheduled for the week of Nov. 21.
The east side includes the east City limits at Park Lake to Abbot Road. Leaves need to be raked to the curb by 7 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 21 to ensure collection.
DPW officials will be evaluating fall leaf drop conditions over the next week or so before making any decisions regarding additional collection dates on the City's west side. At this time, the final scheduled week of collection on the City’s west side is the week of Nov. 14. The west side includes the west City limits at Coolidge and West roads to Abbot Road. Leaves should be raked to the curb by 7 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 14.
Important things to keep in mind:
- Residents are encouraged to rake any leaves that have fallen to the curb as soon as possible and not wait until the end of the program. Despite the warmer than normal temperatures so far this season, the later into the month of November, the greater the chance of a snow event occurring prior to the last leaves falling. This will greatly reduce DPW’s ability to collect bulk leaves due to the equipment and staffing needed to manage snow and ice removal in the community. If the snow does not melt in a timely manner, leaf piles could also become buried during snow plowing operations, effectively ending the 2016 fall bulk leaf collection program.
- Residents are reminded that leaves should be raked to the curb or edge of the road and not into the roadway. As witnessed during the rain event last week, a significant amount of roadway flooding is caused when drainage structures are clogged with leaves in areas where they have been raked into the roadway.