Mayor’s Message: Bernie Platt
As the temperature begins to drop and the skies grow a little bit more cloudy and gray, we’re reminded that, once again, autumn is upon us. In the coming weeks, leaves will begin to fall from our trees and line township streets for as far as the eye can see.
And, as always, the Township’s Public Works crews are fully immersed in preparations for the 2011 leaf-collection season. Residents can expect to see crews out in force from the week of Oct. 24 until mid-December this year.
Ultimately, those crews will pick up enough leaves — about 75,000 cubic yards, all told — to fill Lincoln Financial Field to the goalposts. This is an enormous task, but there are several steps you can take to ease the process:
- Wait to rake leaves to the curb until the day before the posted pick-up date.
- Leaves should be raked to the curb, rather than in the street; storm drains should be kept free of leaves and debris as much as possible.
- Leaf piles can only be collected if they’re free of branches.
- Avoid parking cars on streets scheduled for leaf collection, between the hours of 7 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., for safety reasons, and to avoid service interruptions.
- Most importantly, landscaping services should not be putting leaves out for municipal collection. They can deposit leaves, for free, at the Kresson Road ecology site by scheduling a drop-off time through Public Works.
Of course, the easiest way to manage your leaves this season is by bagging them, using the large, recyclable leaf bags we’re offering for free once again this year, courtesy of Subaru of America, Inc.
The bags are in stock now on a first-come, first-served basis, and are available at my office at Town Hall, and at DPW, 1 Perina Blvd. Bagging leaves reduces the cost of leaf collection; those bags can be put out for collection every week, on the same day as your scheduled trash pick-up.
Keep an eye out for leaf-collection dates in your area. The first round of collections will begin the week of Oct. 24. Weather-permitting, second-round collections are expected to begin the week of Nov. 29.
The following areas are scheduled for leaf pick up the week of Oct. 24:
Colwick
Barlow
Woodland
Ridings of Fox Run
Charleston Woods
Charleston Riding
Brookmead
Woodcrest
Erlton South
Kingsway Village
Cooper Park Village
Erlton North
Hinchman
Lucerne
Sienna
Voken Tract
The following areas are scheduled for leaf pick up the week of Oct. 31:
Surrey Place
Knollwood
Windsor Park West
Cherry Hill Estates
Chestnut Place
Bunker Hill
Signal Hill
Cropwell Estates
Fox Hollow
Ramsgate
Staffordshire
Willowdale
Eagle Oak
Timber Cove
Point of Woods
Deer Park
Lakeview
Forest Park
Country Walk
Delwood
Somerset
Areas scheduled for pick-up the week of Nov. 7:
Kenilworth
Windsor Park
Fox Hollow Woods
Kresson Woods
Brookfield
Old Orchard
Wexford Leas
Batesville
Hunt Tract
Wilderness Glen
Wilderness Acres
Areas scheduled for pick-up the week of Nov. 14:
Brandywoods
Brookdale
Cherry Valley
Apple Hill
Locustwood
Barclay Farms
Barclay Farm Hamlets
Bowling Green
Downs Farm
Ashland
Sleepy Hollow
Areas scheduled for pick-up the week of Nov. 21:
Kingston
Northwoods
Cherry Downs
Surrey Place East
Short Hills
Springbrook
Learn more and check the status of your street’s scheduled collection by visiting the Township Web site at www.CherryHill-NJ.com under the “Leaf Collection” tab. You can also call DPW at (856) 424–4422 or reach out to my office directly at (856) 488–7878.
