JANESVILLE
Dont panic.
Your trees leaves might not have fallen yet, but they probably will. One way or another, basic earth science finds a way to knock them loose, year in and year out.
Meanwhile, if youre seeing city of Janesville leaf trucks vacuuming leaves along the curbs in your neighborhood, its not a sign that you and your stubborn-leafed oak trees are late to the autumn party. Theres still time.
The citys annual residential leaf pickup, as reported earlier in The 69蹤獲, doesnt officially roll out until next weekMonday through Nov. 19.
Ethan Lee, the citys public works operations superintendent, said the city has been sending out three leaf vacuum trucks to various neighborhoods during late October and early November for the last couple of years in the weeks leading up to regular leaf collection.
The citys goal, Lee said, it to try to stem leaf litter on the streets a few weeks before the major barrage of leaf fall.
In Janesville, where leaves are still in their peak autumn blaze, the main barrage hasnt quite happened yet. Lees aware of that.
Lee said the city uses modeling data from years past to plan its annual leaf pickup schedule and to gauge which areas of the city might see leaves fall first depending on tree variety and the age of the trees in various neighborhoods.
On average, Lee said, the major leaf fall should have started happening by nowbut if its delayed, its likely not far off.
Overnight frost and wind gusts are in the forecast this week, Lee said, so some neighborhoods could have yards chock full of leaves by this weekendif not by the end of this week.
It seems like most years well get some calls from residents that most of their leaves are still on the trees, Lee said. This year, I anticipate it (the leaf fall) may be a little bit behind, but I dont think were that far off. It happens pretty quick.
In recent years, Mother Nature has thrown freezing rain at the area, welding leaves to curbs for months. But more often than not, the timing of the leaf fall and the citys scheduled leaf pickup have synced up well.
Its an anxious moment when people see the leaf trucks out and their trees are still hanging on, Lee said. But I tell people that it always seems to come together. It may come together on the Sunday afternoon before (their scheduled leaf pickup).
In some neighborhoods on the citys east side, leaf trucks already have been out this week slurping up what leaves have landed or were raked to the curb. Unlike the scheduled pickups that start next week, theres no set schedule for the early stops the city is making now.
Instead, leaf trucks now are being dispatched to neighborhoods with trees that ditched their leaves early for one reason or another. Lee said that some of those neighborhoods have more mature trees and a diversity of species, such as Walnut trees, that tend to lose their leaves earlier than others.
The city typically gets tipped on early cleanup jobs when city garbage collectors report leaves down along curbs in certain neighborhoods.
The citys early vacuuming detail is aimed at neighborhoods with thicker tree canopies that tend to bring a deluge of leaves heavy enough to overwhelm and slow the citys progress during regular leaf pickup.
Lee said residents can begin piling any leaves theyve got on the ground along the edge of the terrace, but they should wait until a few days prior to push the leaves just past the gutter into the street. Whether or not vacuum crews make an early stop in a given neighborhood, theyll be back for regular pickup on the date scheduled.
Lee said if some neighborhoods see the main leaf drop come after their scheduled leaf pickup day, they can always bag up their leaves, sticks and other autumn yard debris and set them along the curb on the citys designated, bagged pickup days, which are Nov. 29 through Dec. 3.