Township Introduces Voluntary Program For Leaf Collection

Matthew Hersh

Acting on a report delivered last month by the Princeton Township Department of Public Works, Township Committee has introduced a program that, if accepted, would institute sweeping changes in the way the Township conducts its pickup of roadside leaf and brush.

The new system, which is completely voluntary, will offer residents the option of bagging their own leaves and brush in biodegradable bags provided by the municipality. The measure would enable residents to have their refuse picked up more frequently. Residents are still free to place their excess leaves curbside for pickup, however.

The voluntary program involves a weekly pickup through four sections of the Township. The current roadside pickup program breaks the Township into three zones, each with two scheduled pickup dates throughout the fall.

If residents choose to take part in the voluntary program, the Township will provide the first 20 bags free to each residence. Additional bags will be available in bundles of 10 for $2.50. Public works will begin to accept bag shipments by the end of the week, according to Township Recycling Coordinator Janet Pellichero. Bags will be available at the Township Public Works Building Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturdays, 8 a.m. to noon beginning September 25.

All Township residents will be notified by mail regarding how and when they can volunteer in the program, and an entire public works report delineating areas and times of pickup will appear on the Township website by the end of next week, Ms. Pellichero said.

The pickup program breaks the Township down into the following four sections: Section 1, the northeast quadrant, will pick up Mondays beginning October 18 through December 20. Streets in that section include: Abernathy Drive; All Saints Road; Armstrong Drive; Autumn Hill Lane; Autumn Hill Road; Baker Court; Beech Hill Circle; Bertrand Drive; Braeburn Drive; Broadripple Drive; Brooks Bend; Bunn Drive; Burr Drive; Butternut Row; Caldwell Drive; Campbell Woods Way; Carnahan Place; Clover Lane; Clearview Avenue; Concord Lane; Cordova Road; Crooked Tree Lane; Cuyler Road; Deer Path; Dempsey Avenue; Dodds Lane; Dogwood Hill; Dorann Avenue; Ewing Street; Franklin Avenue; Governors Lane; Greenbriar Row; Green Shadows Lane; Grover Avenue; Gulick Road; Guyot Avenue; Harris Road; Henry Avenue; Herrontown Road; Herrontown Lane; Herrontown Circle; Hickory Court; Hillside Road; Juniper Row; Jefferson Road; Journey's End Lane; Laurel Circle; Laurel Road; Leabrook Lane; Linden Lane; Linwood Circle; Littlebrook Road; Littlebrook Road North; Locust Lane; Loomis Court; Loop Row; Magnolia Lane; Marion Road East; Marion Road West; Maybury Hill Road; McComb Road; Meadowbrook Drive; Monroe Lane; Moore Street; Mt. Lucas Road; Mulberry Row; Oakland Street; Old Orchard Lane; Overbrook Drive; Poe Road; Poor Farm Road; Randall Road; Random Road; Red Oak Road; Redding Circle; River Road Rollingmead; Roper Road; Ross Stevenson Circle; Sassafras Row; Shady Brook Lane; Snowden Lane; State Road; Terhune Road; Thanet Road; Tupelo Row; Turner Court; Tyson Lane; Valley Road; Van Dyke Road; Walnut Lane; Wheatsheaf Lane; White Pine Lane; Witherspoon Street; Wittmer Court; and Woods Way.

Section 2, the southeast quadrant, will pick up Tuesdays beginning October 19 through December 21. Streets in that section include: Adams Drive; Balsam Lane; Broadmead; Butler Avenue; Carnegie Drive; Castle Howard Court; Cedar Lane; Devereaux Avenue; Dogwood Lane; Eisenhower Street; Evergreen Circle; Faculty Road; Fitzrandolph Road; Halsey Street; Harrison Lane; Harrison Street; Hartley Avenue; Hemlock Circle; Howe Circle; King Street; Knoll Drive; Lake Drive; Libby Avenue; Longview Drive; Maclean Circle; Marshall Street; Mason Drive; McCosh Circle; Philip Drive; Prince William Court; Princeton-Kingston Road; Prospect Avenue; Riverside Drive; Southern Way; Sycamore Road; Vernon Circle; Western Way; and Woodside Lane.

Section 3, the southwest quadrant, will pick up Wednesdays beginning October 20 through December 22. Streets in that section include: Alexander Street; Basin Street; Battle Road; Battle Road Circle; Battle Road West; Battlebrook Lane; Beatty Court; Benjamin Rush Lane; Brearly Road; Breckinridge Road; Brickhouse Road; Bullock Drive; Carriage Way; Clarke Court; Constitution Drive; Constitution Hill East and West; Earle Lane; Edgerstoune Road; Einstein Drive; Farrand Road; Fleming Way; Flexner Lane; Gallup Road; Goldman Lane; Greenhouse Court; Greenhouse Drive; Greenland Court; Hale Drive; Haslet Avenue; Hun Road; Hutchinson Drive; Independence Drive; Karin Court; Lambert Drive; Leicester Court; Leslie Court; Maxwell Lane; Mercer Road; Merritt Lane; Morse Lane; Neil Court; Newlin Road; Ober Road; Olden Lane; Oppenheimer Lane; Panofsky Lane; Pardee Circle; Parkside Drive; Potter's Run; Preservation Place; Quaker Road; Rodney Court; Rosedale Road; Russel Road; Schribner Court; Springdale Road; St. Clair Court; Stetson Way; Stone House Drive; Talbot Lane; Tarkington Court; Veblen Circle; Von Neumann Drive; Vreeland Court; Warren Court; West Drive; Weyl Lane; Wilkinson Way; Winant Road; and Worth Mill Lane.

Section 4, the northwest quadrant, will pick up Thursdays beginning October 21 through December 22. Because of the holidays, pickup will occur in this section on Wednesday, November 24 and Wednesday, December 22. Streets in that section include: Andrews Lane; Arreton Road; Audubon Lane; Balcourt Drive; Baldwin Lane; Bayard Lane; Beech Hollow Lane; Billie Ellis Lane; Birch Avenue; Bogart Court; Bouvant Drive; Brookstone Drive; Cherry Hill Road; Cherry Valley Road; Christopher Drive; Coniston Court; Coventry Farm; Cradle Rock Road; Crestview Drive; David Brearly Court; Davies Drive; Dean Mathey Lane; Derwent Drive; Drakes Corner Road; Duffield Place; Ettl Circle; Fairway Drive; Finley Road; Florence Lane; Folet Drive; Frederick Court; Garrett Lane; George Drive; Glen Drive; Grasmere Way; Great Road East; The Great Road; Greenway Terrace; Griggs Drive; Hageman Lane; Hardy Drive; Heather Lane; Henderson Avenue; Hillside Avenue; Hilltop Drive; Hunt Drive; Iris Lane; James Court; John Street; Jonathan Dayton Court; Kate's Pond Road; Kimberly Court; Lafayette Court; Leigh Avenue; Leonard Court; Maidenhead Road; Mansgrove Road; Meetinghouse Court; Montadale Circle; Montadale Drive; Morgan Drive; Mountain Avenue; Mountain Road; North Road; Oakridge Court; Pardoe Road; Petit Place; Preserve Drive; Pretty Brook Road; Province Line Road; Puritan Court; Quarry Lane; Race Street; Red Hill Road; Ridgeview Circle and Road; Running Cedar Road; Stone Cliff Road and Terrace; Stonewall Circle; Stoney Brook Lane; Stuart Road, East and West; Trewbridge Court; Van Marter Court; Walker Drive; Wendover Road; Westcott Court; Westerley Road; White Oak Drive; William Patterson Court; William Livingston; Windermere Lane; Winfield Road; Woodhull Lane; and Woodland Drive.

Public Works Superintendent Don Hansen, who implemented a similar program while serving as a former senior official in Edison Township's public works department, has cited difficulty keeping up with the volume of brush material put curbside and that a large number of residents put materials out that are not compliant with the current regulations, such as oversize logs, bricks, and other landscaping material.