Photo by Carol Toler.
In the months since Dallas Sanitation Director Clifton Gillespie first proposed ending alley trash pickup in favor of curbside collection, neighbors have spoken out in protest at town halls, community meetings and social media comment boards. Their widespread opposition and outrage are now quantifiable. An overwhelming majority oppose the plan.
City officials surveyed residents on the issue in November and released the results on Friday. With the largest percentage of respondents ever participating (25% of about 44,000 surveys mailed), 93% wanted to keep alley pickup, and 60% were willing to pay more to preserve the service.
The Dallas City Council will be briefed on the survey results at their regular meeting on Wednesday.
Gillespie first unveiled his proposal to eliminate all alley trash pickup while speaking to a meeting of the Quality of Life, Arts and Culture committee on February 20, 2024. Since then, his proposal has been tweaked to include only alleys narrower than 10 feet, but he has continued to insist that alley pickup is inefficient, cost ineffective and dangerous for sanitation workers. Elimination of some alley service has already been accomplished in certain areas, such as some L streets of Lake Highlands, but it has been paused in most neighborhoods while the issue is being discussed.
Council members will come from differing viewpoints on the issue, since trash collection (and alley access) varies widely across the city. Gay Donnell Willis in District 13’s Preston Hollow/Vickery Meadow and Paula Blackmon in District 9’s Lakewood have the largest number of 8- and 9-foot alleys at risk of having collection pushed to the curb, while many council members in the southern sector have very few customers with alley collection. District 10’s Lake Highlands/Hamilton Park (Kathy Stewart), District 11’s Preston Hollow (Bill Roth) and District 12’s Far North Dallas (Cara Mendelsohn) have mostly 10-foot alleys.
Officials are likely to consider a variety of options, including the continued transition for alleys narrower than 10 feet to curbside, restoring alley service to those who enjoyed it previously and some variation in between. The council meeting begins at 9 a.m. and may be viewed online here.
