Christchurch City Council has rolled out new leaf clearing trucks for the busy Autumn season, including one with a remote-controlled snorkel and another that’s earned the nickname “the goat”.
“We’re always looking for ways to work more efficiently throughout leaf fall season. One of the trucks on our roads can now grind the leaves into small pieces which is why they’ve called it the goat,” said City Streets Maintenance Manager, Steve Guy.
“It also reduces the number of times they have to empty a load so they can do more streets at a time.”
Another new truck features a remote-controlled snorkel.
“This new truck means we no longer need a person on the road manually moving the snorkel around. The person who previously operated the snorkel can instead use a leaf blower to direct leaves into an area where the snorkel can reach like around cars,” Mr Guy said.
And a final new truck set to be launched at the end of the month, dubbed “Noo-Noo” after the vacuum in the 90s tv show The Teletubbies.
“Noo-Noo is going to be a great addition for our contactors. One of these holds about the same amount of leaves as three smaller trucks.”
“We’ve got five trucks moving through 980 high leaf fall areas throughout the city so our teams focus on areas where the leaves inhibit stormwater, compromise safety and inhibit the growth of underlying plants.”
Mr Guy said residents shouldn’t worry if a sweeper truck leaves halfway through a street.
“This doesn’t mean they’re done with the job, just that the truck is full and needs to be emptied,” he said.
“Please be patient. Our teams work hard to clear leaves as quickly as possible, but sometimes heavy rainfall or high winds can cause more leaves to fall in a shorter period. We don’t want to receive reports of abuse when our teams are simply doing their jobs.”
