PBOT to begin Leaf Day service in certain Portland neighborhoods

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — For some Portland neighborhoods, Leaf Day service begins as early as this weekend.

The Portland Bureau of Transportation’s Leaf Day — where crews pick up leaves to ensure storm drains are clear and intersections aren’t flooded — will run from Nov. 9 to Dec. 21.

PBOT conducts this service throughout 53 districts, which cover about one-third of the city. Residents in those districts should have received mail with the service schedule in mid-October, but transportation officials have outlined the dates online. An interactive tool also allows people to type in their address to find out whether they are in a leaf zone.

Districts in Southeast Portland’s Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood will be the first to see leaf day pickups starting this Saturday, and again on Dec. 1. Unlike this area, multiple other districts only have one scheduled service day.

According to PBOT, the agency doesn’t have enough funding to serve the residential streets that aren’t located in a leaf district.

“Due to ongoing budget cuts, PBOT eliminated the residential street sweeping program June 30, 2023,” the bureau said on its website. “PBOT crews still sweep 1,000 miles of major arterial 6-8 times per year as well as protected bike lanes 5 times per year. However, we no longer have budget authority to sweep residential streets outside the boundaries of our Leaf Day program. This means we are unable to accommodate any additional requests or spot cleaning.”

The bureau asks people to rake unwanted leaves and push them into the street one day before crews arrive for pickup. Residents are advised to maintain one foot of space between the leaf pile and curb.

Officials noted any other debris like twigs, branches and grass clippings should be kept in regular yard bins.

Additionally, residents in certain northwest, southwest and northeast districts are required to tow their vehicles before Leaf Day. Those who leave their vehicle on the street could be hit with an $85 citation for parking in a temporary no-parking zone, and a $264 towing fee.

The fee increases to $337 for larger vehicles.