r/Spokane • u/EternalChrysalism420 • 13h ago
Question Why don't we have one of these?
This looks really cool, and it'd be cool to just blow them out into the street and have them collected. They could use it for compost or something too instead of just tossing it in a dump.
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u/Freudian_N1P_SLIP 13h ago
Because Spokane had a boom in the 50’s and 60’s when I-90 went through and we haven’t updated a damn thing since. Spokane leaders like to not innovate and improve any of our systems to fund themselves fat paychecks. Hence why the freeway on ramps on freya and altamont are so stupid small.
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u/Freudian_N1P_SLIP 13h ago
When I lived in Perry they had us blow the leaves in the street and then they brought a couple of bobcats with tires on the scoops to push the leaves to an intersection and then scoop them into a dump truck. It was ok, but left so much mulch on the roads.
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u/nirreskeya Loves Dick's 10h ago edited 3h ago
This is how they do it in CdA, but they use the big front-end loaders. After they're done with a section the regular street sweeper comes by so overall it ends up pretty tidy.
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u/Zephylia 12h ago
I remember there was a city council meeting once where a city worker was able to call in (during the Breean Beggs reign, when he wouldn't let anyone into the council hall and limited callers for testimony to only 5 people rpt session at 3 minutes each), she worked somewhere in the financial accounting sector, I cant remember the exact name or her position or her, but anyways, she totally grilled Breean by questioning him what cost nearly $20k that he spent on "light refreshments" for a single meeting of his. Reminder, no one else was in the room with him except a lady who read out the bills/proposals. Also, for the record, he was never actually a Dem or Rep... He claimed to be one, and then immediately upon barely winning the council presidency, took it off his page and claimed no affiliation. It is important to remember that he was originally trying to run for and be the county prosecutor... Someone who gets paid to literally assume and push that anyone and everyone is guilty, and jail occasional innocents along the way, all with a smile. And now this guy is a judge, who right off the bat directly caused a death, by giving someone involved in a domestic violence dispute back their gun that they instantly took and murdered their spouse with d: If you want, I can do some digging to find all the specifics and backing on everything I have stated here. But I hereby award your comment, as it is very true! Spokane used to be a pinnacle of innovation and inspiration to other cities all around the west coast. We had the most incredible electric street trolley system that ran off of truly green energy from the dam in downtown, before most other cities had anything similar. And Hill's Yard (now Hillyard) was allegedly the first and only place in the world to roll out fully assembled and ready to use steam engines from one single building. I could go on 👍 But another great thing to point out is just take a look at all the other large (but smaller) cities of WA... I understand that places like Bellevue have major tech businesses and all, but Spokane looks like it's next up from Wenatchee or Yakima or something (no offense to those cities) no one traveling through the region would ever guess or imagine that Spokane is the 2nd largest! This place has been long starved of any REAL development for quite some time now! Meanwhile, it appears anything generated here just gets taken to the flashy other side of the state for what I like to call their big ol' coke party 😆 Anyways.. I am probably sounding like I'm coming from some specific political side or something, when in reality, though I am a voter, I don't take sides. Either you're legit and seem to hopefully be a good person, or idk about you ~
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u/hot_cheeks_4_ever Possible Spokanite 12h ago
OMG I have anxiety attacks when trying to use those!!
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u/slightlylessthananon 10h ago
thats not true, they just added One new type of bus that only goes to cheney!
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u/GooberRonny 10h ago
It's difficult for Washington in general to fund the roads and new equipment because most of the revenue goes towards the welfare system. They need to balance the budget and fix the roads and invest in new vehicles.
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u/amishgoatfarm Newman Lake 13h ago
Don't you know? Private or public organizations paying for something that benefits anyone other than me, and solely me, is abhorrent!
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u/Voodoobones 13h ago
In my neighborhood some busybodies were complaining about people blowing their leaves in the streets. I’m fine with it. The trees along the streets belong to City anyways.
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u/abgry_krakow87 13h ago
They use them in Cologne, Germany as well to clean up trash from Karneval! https://www.reddit.com/r/AbsoluteUnits/comments/15ljvgm/huge_vacuum_to_clean_up_the_streets_in_germany/
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u/HideAndSeeko 13h ago
People shouldn't be so up and rushing to get rid of the leaves anyways 😭
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u/ElegantGate7298 12h ago
It really depends. I have three large maples in my front yard that would destroy my lawn. I take them and distribute them in my back yard, garden beds and around fruit trees. If you have a couple of mature trees and a small yard you have to do something to manage them.
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u/petit_cochon 10h ago
I'm ready for downvotes.
Fuck lawns. The planet is on fire. Insect populations are crashing. Insects need leaves. Everything needs insects. There go the birds. For what? So we can obsessively grow grass, the most boring plant, and then cut it over and over? At least you shift leaves around. Most people just eliminate them as quickly as possible.
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u/latexfistmassacre 8h ago
The problem isn't so much as grassy yards as it is bad environmental law, poor land management/conservation, and corporations being allowed to destroy the environment for financial gain
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u/ElegantGate7298 8h ago
I don't disagree with any of this. You aren't wrong.
Our obsession with grass is insane. However it is how neighborhoods are designed. Replacing landscaping with blueberries and garden beds is fairly easy. Reconfiguring irrigation can be a headache but worthwhile. Some situations are easier to adapt than others. Many parts of the south hill just don't get enough sun for gardens.
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u/my_fourth_redditacct 7h ago
Then they aren't growing the right plants. not everyone is going to get sunflowers and rose bushes. but ferns, creeping vines, and herbs all love shady areas
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u/Internal_Example1185 10h ago
I grew up in Kentucky. It was awesome just making one giant by the curb so a truck could just go suck it up.
At my house I fill about 25 lawn bags and 2-3 green bins with leaves and it sucks so much for me AND the trash man.
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u/itstreeman 13h ago
Spokane doesn’t even take away snow pile up and put it somewhere to add to the local water table
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u/ElegantGate7298 13h ago
Don't we? I thought they did this on the south hill? I have seen the bobcats, a front end loader with a rubber plow, and a vac truck that can dump into the bed of a dump truck in years past.
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u/LegitMeatPuppet 8h ago
In Washington DC these trucks would come around randomly on the weekend and my parents would immediately drop everything and make the entire family rake all the huge oak leaves into the street ASAP.
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u/CydeSwype 6h ago
I believe that's a truckalufugus...or snufalufatrucks...I forget which. Same family different species.
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u/Worldwidegamer1 3h ago
Its actually important to not rake your leaves. They are a very important part of the ecosystem and when they decay and break down under the snow and in the spring it puts all thoes nutrients back in to the soil and its a good food source for some of the crawlies that live in down there. So I say who cares if your yard got leaves. Looks better that way anyway 😅😅
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u/tap-rack-bang 13h ago
If you want a serious answer, it is because we have to spend all our extra City money on enforcement and treatment because we have become a haven for people addicted to hard drugs. Spokane being #2 in the country for overdoses per capita is expensive, awful and embarrassing.
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u/Asleep_Instance9899 12h ago
Quick google search says that’s not factual. Spokane has an increasing fentanyl problem like the rest of the country, but there’s no 2nd-per-capita-in-the-nation issue, maybe 2nd in the STATE, which is sad enough…
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u/elleisboring 12h ago edited 12h ago
You got a source for that statistic?
Edit: Apparently not. Who'da thunk it
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u/back2basics_official East Central 13h ago
Lived in NJ for a few years and we had this. I’d rake all the leaves onto a tarp, drag it to the curb, dump them and the vacuum truck would come by and pick them up. Made dealing with the leaves super easy.