Roeland Park’s new leaf pickup truck is ready to hit the streets this fall — along with changes to city’s program

Roeland Park’s one-of-a-kind leaf pickup program is getting a new look this fall.

The city recently purchased a new leaf pickup truck that vacuums up leaves instead of scooping them. Jose Leon, Roeland Park public works director, said Roeland Park was “in dire need” of replacing the equipment because it incurred hefty maintenance expenses last fall.

During pickup season in 2017, several bricks, landscape rocks, yard tools and other heavy objects hidden in leaf piles got picked up by the machine and broke the leaf shredder. Those issues cost thousands of dollars and “a lot of downtime” to fix.

“Over the last couple of years, having to deal with that and the age of the equipment, all of that combined just really made us look at other options,” Leon said.

The new truck is expected to mitigate some of those issues — but it will also require a change to the way residents must prepare the leaves for pick up.

“No longer are leaves allowed to be placed in the street,” read a message from the city to residents last week. “The leaves are now required to be placed behind the curb in front of your home for pickup.”