The City of Dallas has paused picking up trash from alleys to residential curbs after months of pushback.
The temporary pause, directed by City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, will allow city staff to "revisit and reassess alternatives" that would allow alley trash service to continue in neighborhoods that prefer it.
The city's Sanitation Department will conduct a survey in October and November to measure resident interest and get input.
More than 10,500 people have signed a petition rejecting the termination of alleyway trash collection. Residents have also spoken in favor of keeping alley trash pickup during city council meetings.
Petitioners cited challenges for elderly residents and those with physical limitations, along with cosmetic and safety issues.
“We hear you,” said Tolbert in a news release issued Wednesday. “And change is hard. “I’ve asked the staff to reconsider, review and reevaluate all the available feasible options and think creatively about solutions that may be workable."
Tolbert added that the city must balance customer service expectations with worker safety.
Safety is one reason why Dallas has considered phasing out alleyway trash services in the first place.
Sanitation Director Cliff Gillespie told the city council in June that Dallas' alley conditions vary widely and contribute to elevated safety risks, along with high maintenance costs and increased equipment damage.
Sanitation equipment gets damaged in eight-and nine-foot alleys and makes contact with fences, utility poles, overhead wires, and gas meters, he said.
"And more troubling are the worker injuries and near misses for electrocution and fires," Gillespie said. "Many of these alleys simply aren't suitable for large equipment."
The planned hybrid approach would have impacted around 26,000 residents with eight and nine foot alleys, extended dead-end alleys, and homes that had front driveways. These households were scheduled to transition from alley pickup to curbside pickup in January.
Now, the city plans to widen the scope of evaluation to include all 44,000 residents who live in eight and nine foot alleys citywide.
One alternative under consideration would be to move to a franchised solid waste provider, which city staff say would operate under a different cost model and could result in higher rates.
District 13 resident Bruce Orr told the city council last month that the alleyways were mandated and planned for trash pick up.
"How is it we could end up now without any trucks suitable to serve 30,000 homeowners when it's the same department that's buying the trucks, it's the same department that created these alleys 75 years ago?" Orr asked.
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