“DPW’s FAQ says ‘current’ program participants can get help with their leaves. “There are still a few things about the program that are unclear to me,” Costello told The Wash via Twitter. Applications for this service require proof of disability from a physician. The city’s website says this service is available for “residents who are physically unable” to collect and empty their own garbage and recycling containers. DC Department of Public Works November 19, 2020īut when Costello followed up by email, DPW replied to say residents could use the “ hardship collection services ” program, for which disabled residents are eligible. We do partner with for snow season though. We don’t provide assistance for raking leaves.
DPW initially responded to say it doesn’t provide leaf-raking assistance.
Without the assistance of neighbors or friends, many cannot clean their yards, per DPW’s request.ĪNC 5B Commissioner-elect Colleen Costello sent a couple of tweets to DPW asking how seniors and residents with disabilities would be expected to collect their leaves. He talked about curbside management and told The Wash afterward he recognized how leaf collection could be inaccessible.Īlong with mobility issues, wheelchair-users – and other disabled and elderly residents – are unable to rake the leaves themselves. DPW is asking residents to rake leaves into tree boxes near the front of their property, that way, a vacuum can come by during a scheduled pick-up and suck the leaves away.Ĭesar Barreto, an Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator within the District Department of Transportation, said leaf piles bring about “valid accessibility concerns, as you can’t see a pothole, you can’t see if a sidewalk has a crack or you don’t know where the curb ramp is.”īarreto attended a webinar with The Wash two weeks ago, which was hosted by the DC Multimodal Accessibility Advisory Council and addressed residents’ mobility concerns. He uses a motorized wheelchair for mobility and expressed concern with piles of leaves being left around the city for weeks.ĭPW advises against raking leaves directly onto sidewalks or into the street. Mangrum is co-president of Project ACTION!, a disabilities advocacy group in Washington. “ If you try to go on the leaves with a wheelchair, it can cause your tires to spin.” “With leaf removal, to be careful about when and how fast they can do it with weather,” said Thomas Mangrum, a wheelchair-user. Some residents say raking leaves in advance is pointless since a gust of wind can undo all their work, scatter the leaves and leave sidewalks littered with soppy foliage. Disabled residents in the District say they’re having trouble with the Department of Public Works’ requests for residents to rake their own leaves into their tree boxes to be vacuumed later.īut the Department of Public Works, or DPW, is already behind schedule in the Shaw neighborhood, and leaves are sitting in wet piles after Monday’s rain, blocking walkways for longer than anticipated.
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