Results tagged “dpw”

The D.C. Department of Public Works suspended street cleaning for the winter starting on Friday, Nov. 6, a fact which they did not announce until Monday, Nov. 9. On top of not getting the word out until the following Monday, it appears they didn't manage to let all of their parking enforcement officers know of the change on time, either. Several residents reported getting street-sweeping related tickets on Monday and Tuesday, which led to some fairly intense back-and-forths on various neighborhood email lists. Here's a sampling of what went down on Tuesday on the Columbia Heights community email list:

• "What is someone from DPW giving out incorrect information? folks in Columbia heights be on alert ... street cleaning doe snot end until Nov 20"
• "No. Street cleaning ended. It's just that the enforcement agencies didn't pay attention.
  Continue reading "Yes, Street Cleaning Really is Suspended for Winter as of Nov. 6"

The D.C. Department of Public Works began its fall leaf collection period this week, so if you've got a lot of leaves to deal with around your house, it's worth a reminder how this works. First things first, head to http://leaf.dcgis.dc.gov/ and search for your address on the DPW leaf collection status map. The map will return a list of of scheduled leaf collection periods for your area. Take a note of the dates, and then before your next scheduled pass begins, rake all the leaves in front of your house and sidewalk into a pile in the nearest tree box. DPW crews will then come around and vacuum them up. And if you think you might have been missed, make sure to call 311 to request additional leaf removal service.

The D.C. Department of Public Works finally got back to us on our question about what will be done with the 22 brand new ghost bikes that have been placed around the intersection of Connecticut and R Streets NW by activist Legba Carrefour ... kinda. Here's the boilerplate statement we received via email from DPW spokesperson Linda Grant:

"... the DC Department of Public Works is responsible for removing sidewalk memorials, which usually recognize residents who have died unexpectedly, and includes anything from flowers and stuffed animals to empty bottles of alcohol and bicycles. After 30 days, DPW removes all memorial items found at the site. As part of our policy, a sign is posted at the memorial to notify family and friends that they have 30 days to remove any personal effects."

This is a bit of a bogus response. The original Alice Swanson ghost bike was allowed to remain where it was for over a year before DPW removed it, so there are clearly exceptions to this 30 day rule. But what are they, and how are they applied? Not to mention, these 22 ghost bikes could very easily be interpreted as not being memorials to Alice Swanson, but rather protest art pieces to the action of city government in removing the original bike. Could not then DPW use that definition as a pretense to remove the new crop of bikes before 30 days is up?

Via JDLand, we find this YouTube video a resident made of an incessant beeping noise emanating from the general direction of the Department of Public Works equipment staging area at 900 New Jersey Ave SE. According to the Capitol Riverfront BID, that site is eventually set to be redeveloped into housing, but in the meantime, the resident who made this video says the beeping has been going on for at least two weeks. We're checking with DPW to see if they know anything about it. That would drive me absolutely bonkers if it was happening right by my house.

That date marks when alternate-side street sweeping-related parking restrictions go back into effect after the winter season, though the city gives us a week to get used to it again before issuing $30 tickets: those won't start until March 30.

The D.C. Department of Public Works hit up almost every major listserv in the city with the message that most of their services are on hold for the President's Day holiday on Monday. Trash and recycling pickup will both work on a sliding schedule; so whatever day your refuse is usually picked up, it's a day later this week. Also, parking meters, residential parking, and rush hour lane restrictions are all lifted, as are all scheduled street and alley sweeping -- if you've got a friend in town who needs a free parking space tomorrow, well, consider it your lucky day.

D.C. Department of Public Works spokesperson Nancee Lyons sent out the message posted below to neighborhood email lists today.

Dear Neighbors,

Continue reading "DPW Threatening To Give 12,000 Residents the Boot"

Photo by Darren and Brad

Give thanks! The annual winter parking ticket reprieve, courtesy the D.C. Department of Public Works, finally arrives this Friday, when the city will suspend alternate-side residential street sweeping for the season. The official release is just about to be posted to the DPW web site, according to spokesperson Linda Grant, but here's the text from the announcement:

The DC Department of Public Works (DPW) announced today that weekly (signed), residential mechanical street cleaning will end for the season Friday, November 28, 2008. “No parking/street cleaning” restrictions will be lifted and motorists may park along posted, alternate-side, daytime street sweeping routes without being required to move their cars on street-cleaning days.

Continue reading "Street Sweeping Ends on Friday, Nov. 28"

• Rake leaves into a pile into the nearest tree box. (Leaves in the street create travel and parking hazards.)
• Put the pile(s) of leaves where DPW crews can easily vacuum them. Please avoid areas where there are parked cars or low-hanging trees.
• Bagged leaves should weigh no more than 60 pounds each.

An item we missed (hat tip WTOP) is that the District Department of Public Works sent around word late last week that trash and recycling collection days for many D.C. residents will change starting Dec. 1. Beginning this weekend, residents who will be affected by the changes will start seeing signs posted on their streets and receive doorknockers with the relevant details. A good clue as to whether your trash day might change: if you currently only get trash pickup once a week and also live within Wards 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8, your trash day is probably going to change. Keep an eye out for those signs and doorknockers.

Frozen Tropics tipped us off to this piece of news from the District Department of Public Works: beginning yesterday, city recycling crews are now picking up a number of new kinds of items that were previously not accepted for recycling. Most intriguing is that the city will now collect plastic bags for recycling, including the bags you typically get from grocery stores, and even those flimsier produce and dry cleaning bags. Here's the list of new items the city will now pick up:

An anonymous reader sent DCist a series of photos of a D.C. Department of Public Works garbage truck driving through a recreation field in Rose Park in Georgetown last Saturday. The tipster described the truck as having hopped the curb to gain access to the "grass of a children's play area" in the park, and wondered whether this was safe. No one was injured, but a baby carriage in the foreground of the images certainly drives the point home: should city garbage trucks really be driving across recreation areas where children might be running around, not paying attention?

After last weekend's overwhelming turnout and ensuing traffic disaster at the city's semi-annual Household Hazardous Waste and E-Cycling event at Carter Barron Amphitheatre, the D.C. Department of Public Works knew it had to hold these types of events more often. The department announced today that it will conduct an additional collection event this Saturday to accommodate those who did not get a chance to participate last weekend.

We first told you about it last month, but here's a reminder that this Saturday, April 26, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the city will be collecting household hazardous waste from residents at the Carter Barron Amphitheatre parking lot at 16th and Kennedy Streets NW. District residents only (Virginia and Maryland residents should check with their local governments to find out where they may take their hazardous waste) may drop-off hazardous waste for proper disposal and recycling. Acceptable items are listed below, and items that will not be accepted are below the jump.

I've got an old printer in my house that doesn't work, and won't ever work again. It's been sitting in the exact same spot for two years, collecting dust, as I've had no idea what to do with it. You can't just throw those things in the garbage, they're full of toxic something or other! Well a reminder posted by the D.C. Department of Public Works has prompted me to block off a chunk of time in my Google calendar for April 26, the date that's been set for the department's annual spring Household Hazardous Waste and E-Cycling collection event. Hello, spring cleaning. Goodbye, crappy old printer.