Hi Friends!

Front page of the Metro section of the DMN this morning! I've copied it below for those who don't subscribe to the paper. 

This is our opportunity to finish this fight! Please contact your City Council person and come and support our speakers at the City Council Meeting on Wednesday.

Wednesday, February 4th at 9am

Dallas City Hall Council Chambers - 1500 Marilla St.

If you would like to speak, sign up here:

https://dallascityhall.com/government/citysecretary/Pages/CCrules.aspx#%27REG%27

You may appear in person or by video. Every voice counts! If you don't care to speak...just come and stand in support of those who are.

NOTE: Be sure to indicate you are a Dallas resident when you sign up! It makes a difference in the speaker line up. 

We have coverage on NBC Channel 5 news tonight and will have additional media coverage on Wednesday at the Council Meeting.

For additional information go to: www.keepalleytrash.com

Thanks everyone!

Together we can finish this fight!!

DALLAS Alley trash pickup favored in survey
Respondents are open to paying more for it
By DEVYANI CHHETRI
Staff Writer
devyani.chhetri@dallasnews.com
Thousands of Dallas residents have spoken: They want to keep alley trash pickup.
In a city sanitation survey released Friday, 93% of those who responded say they want to keep alley pickup, and 60% say they’d chip in more to preserve that service.
The findings add fresh heat to a long-running debate at City Hall over whether Dallas should keep alley trash pickup or shift to curbside service. With that option, homeowners would have to move their bins to the front of their homes on pickup days.
City officials in November began surveying residents with alleys narrower than 9 feet to assess opinions on curbside pickup and a willingness to pay more to retain their alley services.
Nearly 44,000 surveys were mailed, about a quarter were answered, and the clear winner was the alley.
The City Council will be briefed on the survey results Wednesday.
The survey efforts began after the city was forced to pump the brakes on transitioning 26,000 alley pickup customers to curbside, a move that residents strongly opposed. It was the second time in two years that the city paused its plans to change sanitation services.
For years, city leaders have argued that narrow Dallas alleys, typically 8 to 10 feet wide, make it tough for trash trucks to maneuver, leading to damaged fences, tangled utility lines and safety risks for sanitation workers.
But after repeated public pushback, officials are considering pivoting away from a one-size-fits-all approach.
Instead of ending alley service wholesale, the city now plans to preserve it where there’s strong community support, while making changes in areas where, officials say, alley pickup simply isn’t feasible.
The city maintains that a single “uniform solution” is not going to work for all areas, and there are plans to conduct research on emerging technologies and other kinds of delivery methods.
Sanitation Director Clifton Gillespie has floated the possibility of working with private providers.
The city has pitched four trash collection options:
Hybrid approach: Continue with the city’s proposed hybrid plan, which transitions 26,000 customers with alleys narrower than 9 feet, dead-end alleys longer than 200 feet, and unpaved alleys, especially in areas where most homes have front driveways. Officials say this plan reduces property damage, improves worker safety, aligns with environmental goals and is cheaper for residents compared with alternatives.
Reduced transition: Research and develop ways to transition fewer than 10,000 homes, all of which have front driveways and a reasonable distance from front structure line to curb.
Limited transition: Identify collection routes with the lowest survey response rates and evaluate for transition. Fewer than 5,000 locations.
No transition: Keep things as-is.
City officials plan to gather more public feedback in February, begin outreach in June and roll out any changes in February 2027.