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DPW says small-truck re-routing remedied many alley service failures but introduced temporary misses
Summary
DPW told the committee the October spike in missed collections coincided with a shift to small-truck routes for narrow alleys; agency staff said the change is stabilizing and supervisors now verify problem routes before crews leave.
Multiple councilmembers attributed the October surge in missed collections in part to DPW's recent small-truck route optimization. DPW's staff said the pilot carved problematic alleys out of large-truck routes and formally created small-truck routes, but initial GIS mapping and unfamiliar crews led to service gaps in some locations.
"The little truck optimization...stemmed from the little truck optimization," Director Anthony Crispino said, describing how GIS work and crew familiarity issues created a temporary carryover of misses. DPW said it has corrected crew assignments for problem alleys, added supervisor ride-alongs to confirm route completion, and committed to produce at least a PDF map of small-truck routes for transparency.
Councilmember Charles Allen said the small-truck approach is appropriate for narrow alleys but urged DPW to publish the map and explain which alleys qualify for small trucks. DPW said the next phase is reoptimizing larger routes to even household counts and rolling out the new structure in the new year, weather permitting.
