Street Department

Leaf Vacuum Service

The City of Alton provides a leaf vacuum service for leaves to be raked to the edge of the yard. Leaves should NOT be raked into the street, as this causes clogging issues within the City’s storm water drainage system. Those who rake leaves into the street or along the curb are in violation of City ordinance and subject to citation. Alton Public Works will operate the vacuum trucks in each ward according to the following schedule:

WARDS    5 & 6                                  November 18 – November 22, 2024

WARDS    3 & 4                                  December 2 – December 6, 2024

WARDS    1 & 2                                  December 9 – December 13, 2024

WARD       7                                          December 16 – December 20, 2024

LUMINARY ROUTE                           December 20 & December 23, 2024

In the event of winter weather, the leaf vacuum service will be suspended.  Leaf vacuum trucks may not return once they have provided service to a particular street.

YARD WASTE COLLECTION

Residents living in City limits are not permitted to bring yard debris to the city dumpsters. This includes tree limbs, grass cuttings, leaves, recycling, or any trash.
Republic Services takes yard debris at the curb. Please know yard waste collection (provided by Republic Services) is available year-round, it is a weekly collection, scheduled on your regular trash day pickup.  Republic Services will also provide one (1) yard waste cart to each household, upon request.  Please contact Republic Services at 618-656-6883 to request a cart.

Please mark personal trash cans with a large red “X”.  Bags or cans of yard waste should not exceed 60 pounds in weight.  If using the yard waste dumpster, please take the leaves out of plastic bags or boxes.

• In addition, residents can burn leaves on their property, but the City requests residents not rake leaves onto the streets or burn them there. The Street Department also requests that residents not rake leaves into the gutters as it causes blockage in the storm drains when it rains.
• The burning of leaves is permitted on WEDNESDAYS and SATURDAYS during the months of OCTOBER, NOVEMBER, DECEMBER and from APRIL 15 through MAY 30 from 10:00 AM until 6:00 PM.
• The burning of anything other than leaves, plants, or shrubs is a violation of City ordinance.  It is illegal to burn trash, garbage, or other disposables at any time.   The Police Department tickets violators.  Burning leaves on the street damages the asphalt.  Leaf burning must be done in a container.
• Residents can burn leaves on their property, but the City requests residents not rake leaves onto the streets or burn them there. The Street Department also requests that residents not rake leaves into the gutters as it causes blockage in the storm drains when it rains.

As always, Thank you for your continued patience and understanding.  Please feel free share information with your constituents and others accordingly.

Snow Removal

We’re doing our best to keep streets clear & safe.  It’s inevitable one will be first and one will be last.  Please be patient as the City clears the streets.  We appreciate you being courteous & understanding!

 Winter weather in our region can lead to a balancing act of priorities for the Public Works Department. With limited staff working around the clock, we ask for your patience in the best interest of safety.

 The City of Alton classifies streets based on function, traffic volume, speed limit, potential safety concerns and importance to the welfare of the community. Throughout winter weather events, Public Works attempts to keep all City streets sufficiently passable. The order with which roads are cleared during winter weather operations is based on the road’s priority:

• Priority 1 – Arterials – Primary roadway, high volume streets or main thoroughfares that connect major sections of the City and provide access for emergency fire, police and medical services (i.e. – adjacent to schools – bridges – overpasses – hills – leading to hospitals)
• Priority 2 – Collectors – Lower traffic volume streets and major collector thoroughfares, main subdivision, residential streets and cul-de-sacs that provide access to arterial routes (i.e. – Secondary traveled streets)
• Priority 3 – Least traveled (i.e. – Alleys and side streets)

Public Works operated trucks will first concentrate on Priority 1 & Priority 2 routes; however, one goal for snow and ice removal is to achieve and maintain safe traffic movements throughout the City.

 The minimum level of service for thoroughfares is to clear the through lanes and left-turn lanes at intersections and median breaks to a packed snow cover. Exclusive right-turn lanes and joint center-turn lanes may be left unplowed. This strategy will allow adequate movement by properly equipped and prudently operated vehicles. In these conditions, travel delays may be likely and surface conditions will require slower speeds. Furthermore, roadway widths could be reduced by banked snow.

 Salt conservation is Departmental practice through careful storage and application. Salt is an effective and economical chemical for ice control, but over-application wastes money, depletes critical stockpiles and could lead to environmental concerns. As time and weather permits, the Public Works Department will plow and apply material to achieve bare pavement (curb-to-curb) on all 689 streets and alleys in the City.

 Residents can assist the Department of Public Works by:

• Keeping parked cars off all roadways, especially courts and cul-de-sacs, during and after snow storms
• Not approaching snow plows or interfering with snow removal
• Pile snow to the right-side of the driveway to reduce the potential of having it redeposited when plows pass

 Your plow operators work long, difficult and tiring hours – often times around the clock, moving snow so you can more or less go about your regular lives!

REMEMBER TO BE NICE…AND DRIVE SAFE!

 As always, Thank you for your continued patience and understanding.  Please feel free share information with your constituents and others accordingly.