Major changes may be headed for Dallas trash collection
DALLAS — The way that trash is collected in Dallas could be undergoing a major change. City leaders are considering phasing out alley pickups in favor of curbside.
For around 100,000 Dallas homes, trash day means hauling bags into bins in their alley for pickup. But city leaders say it's a practice that can be dangerous and costly. A proposed change would transition more collection from the alley to the curb.
Dallas alleys vary in length and condition. Some are only 8 feet wide, which makes it difficult, if not impossible, for sanitation trucks to get through.
City officials said the ideal alley width is 10 feet with a 15-foot right-of-way. About half of alleyway pickups are in alleys that are narrower than that.
The city said those alleys pose a danger of injury to sanitation crews and damage to city vehicles, utilities, and private property. They also said that the operating and labor costs of alley collections are higher than curbside ones.
Neighbors in the Hillcrest Forest community of North Dallas said they understand the concerns, but hope the wider alleys can maintain the status quo.
"I think that the infrastructure in this neighborhood supports the alley pickup," said resident Debbi Stahl. "The homes here have these super long driveways, things like that, that I think would just be an inconvenience for most of the neighbors."
"It's a long pull to the front of the house, and quite often those cans are really heavy," said resident Mark Pfeifer. "I can do it. But some of the neighbors who live around here are a lot older than I am, so I don't actually know how they would do without someone else's help."
If it's implemented, the transition to curbside collections would take about two years, starting with the narrowest alleys first.