Front garbage pickup doesn’t make sense
By Letter to the Editor on July 27, 2020.
I totally agree with Lori Bauman (July 4 letter to the editor) and other comments in regards to opposition to the front-lane garbage pickup. For 60-plus years back alleys were designed and constructed for garbage pickup and utilities. It makes no sense to move garbage bins and recycle bins to the front.
I was told that the City is just phasing all back-lane pickups to the front streets. We have to put our addresses on the back fence so that emergency vehicles can find houses in an emergency. So the lane is fine for a police vehicle, ambulance or fire truck but not a garbage truck? What about the City electrical trucks, Telus vehicles, ATCO vehicles and Shaw vehicles? Makes no sense for front pickups.
There is no public consultation but just an authoritarian bureaucratic decision. A couple of lame reasons to move it to the front were: 1) trees may break the garbage truck mirrors; 2) they get stuck.
Homeowners are to prune back their trees and the City can enforce it. As for getting stuckÉ if the City graded the gravel back alleys then there would be no excuses for getting “stuck.” One instance was a contractor for an infill house failed to tamp in a trench properly, causing a rut. The back lanes were engineered for a reason and I understand there are no back lanes in some residential neighbourhoods so that there has to be a front pickup.
The cons to front pickup:
– Most homes do not have proper storage of garbage or recycling bins in the front.
– The streets will look messy, unsightly and cluttered with the bins.
– Garbage trucks will have problems moving around parked vehicles and cause liability issues.
– They will miss pickups if they cannot reach the bin because of parked vehicles.
– The Alberta wind and chinooks will wreak havoc on the bins by blowing them over and then blowing garbage down the street.
– Narrow front issues. Streets like London Road where the streets are tight as it is.
– Security as if the bin stays out for an extended period of time they are probably not home.
We as City residents have to be consulted on matters that affect us. It is time for action! A petition or referendum must be initiated to stop the bins from moving to the front. It is slowly moving and phasing into your neighbourhood.
Lawrence Edwards
Lethbridge
17-16
Right on all points, Lawrence. There is clearly a lack of common sense in the City Hall bureaucracy. And the Mayor and Council take advisement from them, rather than think things through themselves. Shows who’s realy running this city.
Could it be that the city is facilitating the land developers. They now do not have to have alleys so they can develop more lots on a given parcel of land. They have already allowed them to narrow the street so if the is parking on both sides, it is restricted to one lane of traffic. The next problem will be “the garbage trucks can’t get down the streets, they are to narrow and also cannot reach the bins for the parked cars.” Now pass a law that there will be no daytime parking on the streets when garbage pickup is scheduled.
This is one reason it’s illegal to park in any alley. But they won’t likely change that any time soon.