City crews gear up for leaf season

The annual season of autumn and the accompanying descent of leaves from trees over the next weeks means a few things, but the main one for the City of Jackson Street Department is that leaves will be falling mostly in the next few weeks.

But many of those leaves will fall early but will say on the ground for a few weeks until they're raked up.

When they're raked up, that will be when the department get into fall.

"Homeowners can rake their leaves and bring them to the curb, and the City of Jackson has five trucks going around the city on a regular basis," said Thomas Herron, the assistant street superintendent for the City.

The City has trucks that specialize in picking leaves up, whether or not they're bagged up.

"They can leave a pile of leaves on the side, and our machine pretty much sucks the leaves up like a vacuum," Herron said. "Or they can leave them bagged up, and we'll send our claw truck out to get them when you let us know in the 3-1-1 app.

"There are weight limitations to what our other four trucks can handle, but the claw truck can handle a lot of bags if your yard has a lot of leaves."

Brush and limbs are to be kept out of the piles along with any other debris.

"No sticks, bricks or brush is what we usually say," said Percy Jones, the street department director.

Citizens are also encouraged to keep their leaves off the street to try to control flooding issues.

"If leaves are on the street and then it rains, then those leaves will get pulled to the drain and stop it up," Herron said. "That will start flooding issues very quickly."

Here's a few more guidelines from a press release from the City of Jackson's press release about the issue:

• Starting March 31, 2025, leaves will need to be bagged for claw truck pick-up and residents should dial 3-1-1 or make a report on the Ready 3-1-1 App
• Each of the four districts will have a crew assigned to it for the entire season. They will start at one side and sweep the entire district before starting over.
• Leaves must be raked into piles at the street within four (4) feet. Any leaves raked after the truck has been on your road will be picked up on the next round through.
• Sticks and limbs are to be placed in a separate pile. Any pile of leaves with excess limbs will be skipped.
• Pick-up is based on weather. If it is raining, snowing, or frozen, our machine will clog. Operation will resume as soon as conditions allow.
• Do not rake leaves over water meters or clean-outs. They will be sucked into the machine and possibly cause damage and delays.
• Do not rake close to mailboxes or guide wires.
• Do not park vehicles around leaf piles. If the leaf pile is blocked, it will be documented and skipped until the next round.
• Do not rake over a rock-lined flowerbed. They will get sucked up and damage the machine causing delays and expense of repairs.
• We do not pick up in trailer parks, apartment complexes, churches, and industrial parks.
• If you have any further questions, dial 3-1-1.

Leaf pickup season begins on Nov. 1 and will last until March 14.

Brandon Shields, brandon@jacksonpost.news