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City outlines leaf collection and expanded snow plan; leaf pickup starts Oct. 27
Summary
Public Works detailed the city’s curbside leaf collection beginning Oct. 27, drop-off options and composting partnership, and described an expanded winter-operations plan with centralized coordination, more 12-hour shifts and new GIS tracking for plows.
Jonathan Dean, public service manager in Charlottesville’s Public Works department, told City Council on Oct. 20 that curbside leaf collection begins Oct. 27 and that the city will provide a weekly rotational schedule with up to three collections per area.
Dean said residents can find maps and schedules at charlottesville.gov/leaves, may drop off bagged leaves at the Avon Yard facility, and that collected leaves are composted for community use via a partnership with a local farm. “We collect loose leaves via vacuum,” he said, and noted the city offers a text-alert service that sends reminders tied to a resident’s address.
On winter operations, Dean described changes for the coming season: a centralized city operations plan, more 12-hour day and night shifts, tandem-plow coverage on some routes so two trucks run together, increased transit-stop clearing, unified preseason training with dry runs and an AVL/GIS-based public plow-tracking portal.
Dean provided operational scope: the street network covers about 165 centerline miles (roughly 330 lane miles); the city maintains 31 miles of Safe Routes-to-School walk segments, about 18 miles of city property sidewalk frontage, 20 municipal parking lots, 10 school lots and 16 parks-and-recreation lots. He said the region’s winter accumulation averages about 16 to 20 inches per season and that storage and procurement of salt are managed through a sole supplier and monitored for stock levels.
Councilors asked about contractor availability for major storms, sidewalk enforcement and assistance for residents unable to clear their frontage. Dean said contractors are used sometimes for hauling or large emergencies, that Neighborhood Development Services enforces the 24-hour sidewalk-clearing requirement after a declared end to a snow event and may contract removal if a property owner does not comply, and that the city will continue to encourage neighbor-to-neighbor assistance and community-based supports.
Dean emphasized the human element of operations — long shifts and physically demanding work for equipment operators — and showed a new public-facing portal so residents can see plow progress during events.
