Vilas/Greenbush Leaf Collection Pilot Study

The Vilas/Greenbush Leaf Collection Pilot

The Streets Division with cooperation with the Friends of Lake Wingra will be piloting a new leaf collection method this fall in the Vilas and Greenbush neighborhoods.

Residents in the pilot will know exactly when their yard waste collection will occur. Plus, leaf pickup and sweeping should be more efficient and more complete. And that means fewer leaves in our streets and less phosphorus in our lakes.

Starting on October 7, the Streets Division will collect leaves and yard waste from the terraces in the Greenbush and Vilas neighborhoods at the same date and time as the posted Clean Streets/Clean Lakes parking restrictions.  After the yard waste collection is completed, a street sweeper will sweep the post-collection leaf litter.  The pilot will conclude on November 21.

The pilot should allow for faster and more complete yard waste and leaf collection since parked vehicles would not interfere with pickup. Post-collection sweeping should improve also because vehicles will not obstruct that equipment. And since collection will be timed with the posted parking restrictions, residents will know exactly what day the place their leaves and yard waste to the terrace for collection.

All of that should make for an improved leaf collection experience, and more importantly, fewer leaves in the street and less phosphorus in our lakes.

If the pilot works in the Vilas/Greenbush neighborhood, this could become the practice in other areas of the city that have Clean Streets/Clean Lakes parking restrictions.

Residents that are part of the pilot should have received letters from the Streets Division. The mailing includes an explanation of the pilot, a collection calendar, a map of the pilot zone, and a question and answer sheet that should cover most common issues. 

Information about the pilot can also be found on the Streets Division's yard waste website, www.cityofmadison.com/yardwaste.

I LOVE THAT THIS IS HAPPENING IN DISTRICT 13!

It's my hope this will have a significant impact on Lake Wingra.  

For those of you who don't live in Vilas or Greenbush, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE remember to keep your leaves out of the street. 

It's up to all of us to do what we can to keep leaves and yard debris out of our lakes, reducing the phosphorous load caused by decaying leaves, in turn preventing those nasty algae blooms.

Yep, working together we can make a difference!

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at District13@CityOfMadison.com