Residents need to have tree limbs to curb by Friday
Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry is asking Fort Wayne residents to have all tree limbs and branches at the curb by Friday, Jan. 9, as crews continue to go through each city street collecting branches left in the parkstrip or right of way.
“The amounts of branches and limbs across the city are dramatic. Our crews are working diligently to clean up our city, but we need a deadline to have branches curbside,” Mayor Henry said. “This will help ensure that once the crew has gone down your street, we know they have collected all the limbs and debris, and we don't have to worry about people bringing branches to the curb after the trucks have gone by.”
There will only be one curbside branch collection per street, but the branch drop-off sites remain open.
Parks and Recreation Department staff has traveled all 1,200 miles of City streets to assess the situation, neighborhood by neighborhood. “The damage of the ice storm has affected every Fort Wayne neighborhood,” said Parks Director Al Moll. “We have branch piles to collect on most every street during this very labor intensive process, but we continue to work diligently with the assistance of Parks employees and crews from Public Works and City Utilities.”
People no longer need to call 311 to report branches in their parkstrip. To help expedite the curbside pick-up, the City offers the following recommendations when possible:
· Place branches perpendicular, not parallel, to the street
· Put the branches in multiple small piles instead of a single, large pile
· Trim long branches into smaller pieces
· Keep the branches from extending into the street
The City continues to offer drop-off collection sites for branches and limbs, where they will later be mulched. They are:
· Shoaff Park by Conklin Pavilion (Christmas tree drop-off site) during park hours
· Tillman Park Ball Field parking lot off Hanna Street during park hours
· McMillen Park in pool parking lot (Christmas tree drop-off site) during park hours
· Foellinger Theater / Lincolndale lot in Franke Park ' back parking lot southwest corner (Christmas tree drop-off site) during park hours
· Foster Park West in the soccer field parking lot (Christmas tree drop-off site) during park hours
· Biosolids Compost Facility, 6210 Lake Ave., 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Sunday, branch drop-off fees waived
· National Serv-all Compost Site, 6231 MacBeth Road, 7 AM to 5 PM, Monday through Friday, and 8 AM to Noon on Saturday, branch drop-off fees waived through Jan. 17.