We’ve written several blogs recently about some neighborhoods in Dallas who have been asked to switch their trash pickup from the alley to the curb (here, here, and here.)

The neighborhood responses to this request have varied. Many residents seem to have accepted the change and resigned themselves to it. Ted Thompson, president of the Greenland Hills neighborhood association, said so far he hasn’t gotten any negative feedback or calls about the switch that was implemented at the beginning of the month.

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However, other residents, such as those in the Peninsula Neighborhood and various parts of Lakewood, are less than complacent. It seems that the universal complaint is that there is no place for many residents to disguise their trash bins on the street which leaves it looking, well, like an alley. 

Chip Northrup, a Peninsula Neighborhood resident, provided this photo for us, showing a few trash bins knocked over in the wake of the trash truck. He said that the problem isn’t only garbage cans out in the street, but the fact that trash trucks knock some of them over, making the street look even more unattractive. 

Cindy Famili, a Lakewood resident, said that getting the heavy trash bins out in front of the house is challenging, especially for the elderly and residents with houses like hers which has no fully paved drive-way. “Some people just don’t have the time or have just given up, so they leave the bins out now at all times,” she said. 

More after the jump.

Famili said she moved to Lakewood from Uptown a couple of years ago and specifically chose her neighborhood because it had alley trash pickup. Now, she and her neighbors are worried that the curb appeal of their neighborhood is gone now and that property values will suffer. “This unfortunate change has diminished the beauty of this historic neighborhood,” she said.

Paul Coscia, an M-Streets resident, mirrored the sentiment, asking “you really want to park in front of someone’s house and have to walk by some stinky, dirty trash can to get to their front door?”

Famili she and many of her neighbors have written city council members and anyone else they think will listen, requesting that their alley service be resumed. According to Mary Nix, director of sanitation services, the city working with the Peninsula Neighborhood to resume their alley service. Nix said any other residents who want a chance at getting their alley service resumed should contact the sanitation department to find out what they need to do.

Keep checking Back Talk for more details over the next couple of days.

Editor’s note: Freelancer Elizabeth Elliott’s story "Alley oops?" will appear in the April Lakewood/East Dallas Advocate. This blog series expands on the piece.