On Sunday afternoon, Nov. 9, 2025, the westbound bike lane on 34th Avenue near Jackson Street had disappeared under long piles of leaves.
This is the time of year when Albany bicycle riders must sometimes use the driving lanes because the designated bike lanes are blocked by piles of autumn leaves.
I think drivers understand that, and I appreciate those that make an effort to give me a wider berth than normal.
The City of Albany asks property owners trying to get rid of autumn leaves to put them in their yard debris carts for weekly pickup by Republic Services. When the carts don’t suffice for the tons of dead foliage, the city asks people to rake the leaves into long, narrow rows in the street, two feet from the curb, where Republic Services will periodically scoop them up.
“Leaf piles must not block storm drain, driveways or bike lanes,” the city tells us on its website.
That’s easier said than done. In fact it’s impossible on the major streets that have bike lanes. Raking piles on the sidewalk or parking strip won’t get them picked up. And blowing them into the driving lanes is no solution either.
Republic Services says on its website that it picks up leaves in Albany streets during three two-week periods, one of which is already over. The second ends on Nov. 14, and the last one is Dec. 1-12.
The city asks that the piles be ready for pickup before the first day of each period. If they’re not, those piles may stay there for a while, perhaps for three or four weeks.
On major roads where the leaf piles block bike lanes, like on 34th Avenue on Sunday, it might be a good idea to pick them up as soon as they show up. (hh)
I figured that riding thru the leaves you wouldn’t need to ride as far to get your cardiovascular work out in. Haha haha
The 2 sidewalks on either side of the street are still open.
Rake them as they fall and fill your yard bin to the max every week. For most people they wouldn’t need to fill the streets with a rotting mess.
Absolutely! There’s many places I’ll see piles of leaves, but never a yard trash cart. Frequently the lane is filled up again within a day or 2 of sweeping, and often, it’s large round piles that protrude into the traffic lane.
If one has a bagging lawn mower, chopping them up will noticeably reduce the volume and doesn’t take a great amount of effort.
In Corvallis, Republic picks up the leaves every week – on garbage day. I’m sure that those residents pay a couple of dollars more for this service. In Albany, you never know during the 2-week window, when they will pick up the leaves. If you knew, residents could put out their leaves the night before the pickup.