Front-yard garbage pickup is a bad idea
By Letter to the Editor on November 26, 2020.
Re: Garbage pickup at front of residential property.
We have resided in the Lakeview area of Lethbridge for over 40 years. Our home is in a small cul-de-sac of seven or eight homes and all residents have between one and three vehicles which are regularly parked in front of or near their homes.
While our lots might be large, the actual frontage for some lots can be as little as 30 feet! Most residents park “nose in” to the curb/sidewalk to accommodate multiple vehicles in front of their homes! There are a large number of similar cul-de-sacs in the Lakeview area and perhaps as many as 100 throughout the City of Lethbridge!
With the City’s intention of requiring all homeowners/
residents to place their garbage and recycling bins in front of homes, plus the probability of a third bin for yard waste, I anticipate a congestion and possibly a compliance issue!
I challenge our mayor and at least two other councillors to spend an hour or so riding in or following the Wednesday collection trucks in this area, and particularly in the numerous cul-de-sacs! Take along a stopwatch and a notepad to record the time between one cart pickup and the next.
I understand that saving time is not the only criteria in completing each route but … these are probably hourly paid drivers; the extra time it will take to navigate the parked vehicles and the tight circles of bins in a cul-de-sac would certainly take longer … perhaps double the time for each pickup, dumping and returning the bin to the ground.
Concerning the other “reason” for the proposed changes … in the 40-plus years we’ve been here, we cannot recall any “repairs or repaving” to the lanes because of damage by heavy trucks, only some small patches on an as-needed basis.
Finally, I have spoken with most of our neighbours and other city residents, both in our immediate neighbourhood and throughout this corner of the city … virtually everyone is supporting and shares these concerns!
William Hacker
Lethbridge
-1
one more thing that makes us look like an ugly hick town.
Citizen! Fall in line!
You should live on the windy westside. Trash city. In and out of bins.