Winter, Xmas Tree Collection, and New Year's Eve & Day Service Impacts

My seasonal reminder that I'll rarely post winter weather updates and the best way to get timely winter updates is to subscribe via the City's Winter updates page. There are lots of different options:

• Call the Winter Parking Hotline: (608) 261-9111
• Winter Text Alerts
• Winter Email Lists
• RSS Feeds
• Winter Facebook
• Winter Twitter

The City declared a snow emergency last night and started plowing all residential streets at 11pm. This is a huge effort that involves 150 pieces of equipment and nearly 1,800 miles of traffic lanes. Residential streets are only plowed when three or more inches of snow accumulates on the roads. Learn more.

The Streets Division provides two rounds of curbside collection for Christmas trees. The first round will begin on January 3, 2022 with the second and final round beginning on January 18, 2022. Collection will be weather dependent.

Do not place wreaths, evergreen rope, garlands, and boughs out for tree collection. These belong in the trash. They contain wires or metal that can damage wood chipping equipment.

Residents who wish to have their trees collected at the curb should follow the below guidelines in order to guarantee their trees are picked up.

The Rules for Christmas Tree Collection

Failure to follow the below list of rules may result in the tree not being collected.

• Remove all tree stands regardless if they are metal or wood.
• Remove all tree decorations such as lights, ornaments, or other metal objects.
• Remove any tree bags, and any other foreign object.

Where to Place Your Tree for Collection

Trees must be placed on the terrace or the road edge, and must be accessible by collection crews.

What Happens if It Snows

The Streets Division is the primary agency responsible for servicing city streets during snow and ice events. If conditions require, crews will be diverted from tree collection to assist with maintaining the roads. This may result in pickup delays.

If the trees become buried with snow and ice while awaiting collection at the curb, residents are asked to dig out the trees so they are accessible to the crews.

When to Place Your Tree for Collection

The Streets Division performs two rounds of Christmas tree collection.

Round One Information - January 3, 2022

Residents who wish to have their tree picked up during the first round should set their tree to the curb by 6:30am on January 3, 2022.

Trees set to the curb at this time will likely be collected sometime between January 3 and January 14, 2022, depending on weather conditions and crew availability.

If you place the trees to the curb after January 3, the tree may not be collected until the second round.

Round Two Information - January 18, 2022

Residents who wish to have their tree collected at the curb and did not take advantage of the first round must have their tree to the curb by 6:30 a.m. on January 18.

Trees set to the curb at this time will likely be collected sometime between January 18 and January 28, depending on weather conditions and crew availability.

Trees set to the curb after 6:30 a.m. January 18 may not be picked up until the start of the regular brush collection services in the spring.

Drop-off Sites

Madison residents may also bring their Christmas trees to one of the Streets Division drop-off sites.

The sites are located at 1501 W. Badger Rd. on the southwest side and at 4602 Sycamore Ave. on the east side.

The drop-off sites are for winter hours, which is 7:30am to 2:30pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Please note that drop-off sites will close at 10:50 on New Year's Eve.

Tree Donation Opportunity – Labyrinth in Olbrich Park

Starting on January 2, 2022, residents may also bring their Christmas tree to 3527 Atwood Ave (the Olbrich Park beach parking lot) for them to be used in a public art installation within Olbrich Park. A local artist will be using the trees to construct a labyrinth within the park.

When the donation opportunity becomes available on January 2, 2022, residents electing to donate their trees for this project must follow the posted signs on where trees can be dropped and if trees are being accepted at that time. The tree donation phase is expected to last until January 29 or until the artist receives enough trees for the installation.

Additional details about the labyrinth project can be had by contacting Karin Wolf, the Madison Arts Program Administrator, at 608-261-9134 or kwolf@cityofmadison.com.

Drop-off sites also open but with reduced hours

The Streets Division will be performing regularly scheduled curbside collections of trash and recycling on Friday, December 31, 2021.

Streets Division drop-off sites will also be open on New Year’s Eve, but they will be closing at 10:50am.

About the New Year’s Eve Collections

Residents with a Friday trash and recycling collection day should be sure their carts are out for collection by 6:30am on that day.

Collection vehicles are likely to be in neighborhoods earlier than usual on New Year’s Eve. Be sure your carts are out for pickup on time or you may miss your collection opportunity.

The Streets Division aims to have collections complete by 11:00am on this day, so additional staff will be placed on trash and recycling pickup duties.

About the Drop-off Sites

The drop-off sites at 1501 W. Badger Rd and 4602 Sycamore Ave will be open on Friday, December 31.

However, they will be closing early.

The last resident will be allowed to enter the drop-off sites at 10:50am on the 31st.

The drop-off sites will reopen at 7:30am on Monday, January 3, 2022.

More Information

Get your trash and recycling schedule at www.cityofmadison.com/CollectionSchedule. The 2022 schedules are now available on that site. Just enter your address into the form, and you will find the 2022 calendar underneath the one for 2021.

If you cannot access the website, or have trouble with the form, contact our offices and we can mail a calendar to your home. The Streets Division offices are open Monday to Friday 7:30am to 4:00pm. Residents east of South Park Street can call 608-246-4532. Residents west of South Park Street can call 608-266-4681.

Additional information about all of Streets Division services, including the drop-off sites, can be found at www.cityofmadison.com/Streets.

Metro Transit operates regular weekday schedules on Friday, December 31. There is no extended service.

Buses follow HOLIDAY schedules on Saturday, January 1. Holiday service is available on the following routes:

2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 13, 16, 17 18, 20, 21, 22, 26, 30, 31, 32, 36, 40, 50, 51, 59, 63, 67 and 68

• Routes 80-84 do not operate.

Paratransit Standing Rides are Canceled on New Year's Day
All standing paratransit rides will be canceled on Saturday, Janauary 1. Paratransit passengers must schedule casual rides to travel.

Customer Service Hours
Metro's customer service center will be open from 6:15 a.m to 6 p.m. on Friday, December 31. On Saturday, January 1, agents will be available from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Metro's administration office will be closed both days.

For more information, contact Metro's customer service center at (608) 266-4466 or email mymetrobus@cityofmadison.com.

Administrative offices are closed on December 31 and January 1. Emergency services will be open; please call 911. Use Report a Problem for non-emergencies.

[Virtual] Office Hours in January will be the evening of January 6. More details soon.

If you have questions, comments, suggestions, etc., feel free to reach out: district19@cityofmadison.com

-Keith F