Back in 2008 I wrote in praise of this lovely lady who took care of a property along my morning walk.
This is how a good neighbor takes care of leaves and other debris on their property. If they are a really good neighbor, they take care of the sidewalk in front of their property as well.
- You make sure the job is done without the noise and pollution of a leaf blower.
- You actually gather the debris, pick it up, and takes it away to the trash.
- You don't blow dust and pollution in the faces of passersby who might have respiratory conditions that are made worse by these triggers.
- You don't disturb the neighborhood with the sound of an unneeded power tool.
- You don't move the trash elsewhere for someone else to move again or for you to move again the next day after it blows back from where you sent it.
Back then, not much scientific evidence on the downside of leaf blowers was available. Now articles like, "We know you love your leaf blower, but it’s ruining the neighborhood" from Noise and the City tells me I'm not alone in my hatred of these noise makers.
They call these machines The Devil's Hair Dryer in another post. And, as noted above, noise is not the only thing about blowing leaves away that makes it unneighborly.
What You Can Do
Start with your own building and ask your management company, board of trustees, or landlord to have leaves raked or swept and picked up rather than using a leaf blower.
WBUR ran this piece on what one town did in response to this issue. You could organize your neighborhood association or your block.
If you've been successful with your own building, you can bring that up as the start of a movement on your block. Gently ask neighbors to do the same. In this age of incivility, this is hard to do. But looking at the surveys on the sites linked to here, you may find people receptive.
Add a decibel meter app to your phone and call 311 if you come across a leaf blower that is violating noise regulations. Give the address and the reading on your meter.
It may not result in someone coming out and stopping the noise, but it will deliver a message to the city that citizens have had enough of unnecessary leaf blower noise.
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Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2016 Penny & Ed Cherubino
goals every day. (When Ed pops in here to edit this post, he can confirm my record!) (Confirmed! And, although Poppy & I like to sleep in, we're beginning to feel pressured to join her.)