City Crews Work to Clear Trees and Debris Following Severe Weather
Flint, Michigan – August 16, 2015 – In the wake of Friday’s severe weather, City of Flint crews will be following a plan to clear downed trees and related debris. It is anticipated street sweeping activities will be scheduled to begin the week of August 17th to cleanup remaining trees and branch debris. Clearance activities will include removing all trees and limbs placed at the curb. Residents are asked to provide assistance as detailed below to aid in the clearance efforts.
The first priority for Street Maintenance crews will be the removal of trees and broken tree limbs that have fallen from within the public right-of-way (the easement between the sidewalk and curb) onto private property such as houses, porches, and automobiles). Trees and large limbs that are completely blocking streets are also being targeted for immediate removal.
Trees and limbs that are partially blocking streets and sidewalks will be targeted for removal as a second priority. The tree debris may also be placed at the curb until clearance efforts begin. Fallen public right-of-way trees and limbs removed from private property and from within the streets may be placed at the curb until clearance efforts can begin. Placing the trees and limbs at the curb will allow Street crews to move faster to address immediate safety hazards. Residents should not expect final cleanup and street sweeping to be performed immediately after emergency removals until clearance activities are completed.
Residents are encouraged to seek assistance from friends, relatives, and neighbors to cut and bundle nonhazardous trees and limbs that have fallen on their private property with twine and place them at the curb no later than 7:00am on their regular solid waste collection day, 10 feet apart from regular waste. Bundled limbs can be up to 2 inches in diameter, 4 feet or less in length, not to exceed 50 pounds, and limited to 10 bundles per week. Bundled limbs and branches that meet these requirements will be picked up during the weekly compost pickup.
Residents should not place unbundled trees, limbs, or branches at the curb. If they cannot cut and bundle larger tree limbs and branches that pose a safety hazard that have fallen from, or on, private property, they can contact the Street Maintenance Division at the number below and an attempt will be made to secure assistance from the City’s Blight Elimination Office to provide residents assistance to eliminate any safety hazard created by a fallen tree or limbs. Residents wanting additional information about tree removal, clearance or cleanup activities should can call (810) 766-7343, 8am to 5pm, Monday through Friday, or leave a voice message after hours.
