It’s autumn in Erie and we all know what that means.  Raking leaves.  And raking leaves.  And then, for a change of pace, raking more leaves. 

If you happen to live in an area that has very few trees, this isn’t a big problem.  You rake some leaves, put them in a couple of barrels, leave them at your curb on garbage night, and … voila … leaf disposal accomplished. 

However, if you live in an area of Erie that has a lot of big trees (a) you’re lucky because the trees are great shade providers in the summer and color providers in the fall, but (b) you probably don’t have enough barrels to fit all the leaves you’re going to be raking.  And so you have to use plastic bags.  Very specific biodegradable bags that the City of Erie insists you use, lest they will not pick up the leaves you worked so hard to rake. 

And in order to purchase those very special leaf bags, there’s a good chance you’re going to have to run all over town.

I was in Valu Home Center this afternoon when I overheard a woman ask a store employee where their “City acceptable” leaf bags were.  His response was that they were all out of them.  The leaf-bag-searching woman was not amused.  Not five minutes later, a gentleman came in the store and asked the clerk at the register where I was checking out where their special leaf bags were.  She told him they were all out.  He then asked when they would be getting more.  She sighed a heavy sigh and very apologetically told him that they had no idea when or if they would be getting any more this season.

After my trip to Valu, I had several other errands on my list, which required that I drive over West Sixth Street through the Frontier area.  And there I saw house after house after house where the residents had not bothered to bag their leaves or put their leaves into barrels.  Instead, they just raked their leaves out into the street, awaiting the street sweepers.  And it occurred to me that, indeed, I’d been seeing them do this in Frontier for years.   

So I wondered… why doesn’t everyone just do that?  The street sweepers go over my street once a week.  If everyone raked their leaves into the street on the day before or the morning of the street sweeper’s arrival, wouldn’t that solve the problem?  There would be no added expense to residents for having to purchase special leaf bags or extra barrels.

Once I got home, I checked the City’s website to see what the exact rules are regarding leaf disposal, whereupon I found this Press Release about bagging or barreling your leaves.  I was rather surprised at this particular passage:

Residents are reminded that sweeping or raking leaves into the street is prohibited. Doing so can cause drainage problems and also poses a threat to safety and the environment.

Why is it, then, that the residents of the Frontier area of the City of Erie are permitted to rake their leaves into the street and leave the rest of the work to the City street sweepers?  And, near as I can remember, they have been permitted to do this for many years.

I wonder if the reason they are exempt from the rules the rest of the City follows with regard to leaf disposal has anything to do with why the lights at the Frontier tennis courts are lit until after 10:00 p.m., rain or shine, even after the nets have been removed.*  I frequently drive by the tennis courts at Frontier Park and I’ve seen the lights on during torrential downpours and also on as early at 3:00 in the afternoon, when the sun was shining bright as could be.

Are there any other City owned tennis courts, basketball courts, or other such recreational facilities that are lighted for such long hours (or at all)?  And how much do those lights cost the City of Erie taxpayers?  I thought the City of Erie was having financial problems.  If that were the case, then wouldn’t the City be cutting back on such extravagances as lighting tennis courts in the pouring rain?  Or until after 10:00 p.m.?  Or at all? 

Inquiring minds want to know.

* I noticed that they finally turned the lights off a couple of days ago… a few weeks after the nets were removed. 

November 11th, 2009 | Category: Erie, Laws, Taxes | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL