South Bend locals take matters into their own hands as they wait for leaf pick up to resume

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Leaf pick up in the City is set to resume on March 23, but locals say they want the leaves gone now.

Piles of leaves are lined up along the roads in South Bend. Many people like Peggy Swihart say they're tired of looking at the leaves that should've been long gone from their yards.

"You'll see a lot of bags around the neighborhood that people set out because now the grass is dying and people's flowers aren't coming up," said Swihart.

The damage to their yards has pushed people to take action, bagging up the leaves on their own or raking them into a nice pile on the corner. However, the grass and flowers aren't the only issue. Swihart says it's creating safety issues for her and her neighbors.

"Everything is just flowing down these hills, and you can't drive through the small intersections after a storm because the drains are plugged with leaves, and it's quite a problem," Swihart explained.

A problem that Swihart tells ABC57 she's tried to resolve with no luck.

"Well, I contacted 311, back in, I want to say, December, when we had a break in the weather, and I never heard back."

She says the clogged drains impact her home.

"Where I live, is at one of those T intersections, and I have a basement, so when that street floods, that water seeps underground, and my basement floods. So that's my biggest concern."

The City of South Bend shared it will resume leaf pick up beginning March 23. According to their Facebook post, the program was paused in late November due to heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures.

Swihart still feels something should've been done sooner.

"I think they could have made more strides by now to get out here and mitigate the situation before it got this bad."

There are nine zones and pickup will begin in zone seven where it left off last fall. According to the City, crews will collect leaves street by street and complete the entire zone before moving to the next. After finishing the first round of pickup in zones seven through nine, crews will return to zone one to begin a second pass through the city.

Below is the pickup schedule:

• Zone One: April 1

• Zone Two: April 3

• Zone Three: April 7

• Zone Four: April 9

• Zone Five: April 13

• Zone Six: April 15

• Zone Seven: March 23 and April 17

• Zone Eight: March 25 and April 21

• Zone Nine: March 30 and April 23

Residents can place leaves in their yard's waste bin, but that pickup doesn't start until March 30. You can also put leaves in 30-gallon biodegradable bags and request an extra yard waste pickup. You can put 10 bags out for free pickup. All dates are weather permitting and subject to change.

You can check the most up to date schedule here.