MISSOULA - Leaf collection in Missoula is beginning Monday.
City officials decided to begin the process a week later than listed on the original flyers because fewer leaves had fallen as compared to previous years.
City officials note the entire leaf collection schedule has been pushed back by one week and should wrap up on Dec. 2, weather permitting.
Crews will start in the neighborhoods north of the Clark Fork River during the first week. Those neighborhoods include the Rattlesnake Valley and Grant Creek, along with most of the north side of downtown and the West Side and North Side areas. Crews then move to central Missoula south of the river and throughout the city through Dec. 2.
View the entire schedule and collection area map at www.ci.missoula.mt.us/504/Leaf-Collection.
Residents may also bring their leaves to Garden City Compost at no charge. Visit Garden City Compost’s web page at www.ci.missoula.mt.us/2089/Garden-City-Compost or call 406-552-6619 for more details.
For additional ideas about what to do with all those leaves, visit www.ci.missoula.mt.us/2339/Everyday-Opportunities.
City crews depend on citizens to make leaf collection work.
- Please rake leaves to the curb in the parking lane but not out into the bike lane or driving lane. If there is not a parking lane, please rake leaves to the curb but use no more than half of the bike lane. Make piles long and narrow.
- Ensure leaves do not block any stormwater inlets, especially if it's raining or snowing as the stormwater will not be able to filter through the leaves to reach the storm drain.
- Please complete raking before your pickup week starts. Crews may visit your street on the first day. They will then move on through the area.
- When parking, please allow room for Streets Division crews to get to leaf piles with front-end loaders and trucks. See the Leaf Collection web page for parking instructions in Special Districts during leaf collection.
- Leaves only, please. Debris and limbs delay leaf pickup and can damage equipment.
- Trees must be pruned to a minimum of 14 feet over the street to the inside edge of the curb line. If your trees do not meet this requirement, they may have to be trimmed by City crews to complete leaf collection.
- Leaf collection is followed by street sweeping, as weather permits.
If snowfall disrupts the schedule, crews will be diverted to plow snow but will return to leaf collection as soon as possible. Updates to the schedule will be posted on the City of Missoula website at www.ci.missoula.mt.us/504/Leaf-Collection and the Public Works & Mobility Department’s Facebook page.
Residents who miss their neighborhood’s scheduled pickup time can call the Street Operations & Maintenance Division at 406-552-6360 to be placed on a list for another collection time, as weather permits and after all areas are completed.
