Photo by Carol Toler.
In the ongoing David-versus-Goliath-style battle between homeowners and the city sanitation department, Wednesday marked a big win for the little guy. Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert directed Sanitation Director Clifton Gillespie to temporarily pause implementation of the alley-to-curb transition he ordered in June. The pause will allow officials to “fully evaluate additional options for continuing alley service where residents strongly prefer it, while addressing the City’s ongoing safety and efficiency concerns.”
Approximately 26,000 customers with 8-9-foot-wide alleys, unimproved or semi-improved alleys or dead-end alleys, primarily where homes had front driveways, had been the focus of the new plan — a “hybrid” of Gillespie’s original plan to eliminate alley service citywide. Implementation was set to begin in January of 2026.
“With this temporary pause, the scope of evaluation has been expanded to include all 44,000 customers who live along 8-9-foot alleys citywide,” said Tolbert in a statement. “This ensures consistent consideration of all residents in the most problematic alley conditions.”
The city will work to notify residents via their website, social media platforms and media coverage. The sanitation department will conduct a survey to measure resident interest in continuing alley service.
“Among the alternatives being reviewed is the possibility of service through franchised solid waste collection providers,” the statement continued, “which would operate under a different cost model and could result in high rates. We strongly encourage all affected residents to participate in the survey so their input can help shape the path forward.”
“We hear you, and change is hard,” Tolbert said. “I’ve asked the staff to reconsider, review and reevaluate all the available feasible options and think creatively about solutions that may be workable. We must balance customer service expectations with worker safety.”
Tolbert said there are steps individuals and neighborhood associations can take to remedy safety concerns. Specifically, overgrown vegetation can be removed, tree limbs can be cut back and residents can remove obstructions along paved alleys.
Tolbert’s pause comes after a group of residents of Preston Hollow, Lakewood and Lake Highlands — the neighborhoods with the most alley trash pickup service and most affected by the changes — presented a petition to the city council in August. It now has more than 10,000 signatures.
“(Moving trash pickup from alleys to curbside) degrades our neighborhoods, which were designed specifically for utilities to be kept in the alleys,” said Libby Collet, creator of the petition. “Many of these homes are not set up for this change, and it will be a burden to many.”
Alley pickup encourages cleaner and better-looking streets, the petition said, while curbside disadvantages older adults and those with disabilities.
Residents of the Vickery Place neighborhood agreed and sent an email to residents, encouraging them to sign the petition.
“Most homes lack a discreet space for storing bins in the front yard,” the email said. “Many residents do not have front driveways, making bin movement more difficult. Streets would need to be cleared of vehicles for several hours, causing significant inconvenience. Several streets are already designated ‘no parking,’ making this logistically unworkable for neighbors that rely on the remaining parking. Our narrow streets cannot safely accommodate two rows of bins and two-way traffic.”
When he initially proposed eliminating citywide alley pickup in February of 2024, Gillespie pointed to the efficiencies of larger trucks with fewer workers which struggle to fit down narrow alleys, and safety concerns created when trucks smash into low-hanging branches, unkempt fences and other alley impediments.
The sanitation department’s survey will be conducted in October and November. Presumably, a permanent plan will follow.
