“Keep leaves out of the street and place them on the devil strip instead.” That request from Akron Mayor Shammas Malik sums up the biggest change to the city’s leaf program this fall, as citywide pickup begins Monday, Nov. 9.
There is a second change homeowners will notice. Akron is no longer publishing a start date for each ward. Instead, crews will post signs on the street about 48 hours before they arrive.
The devil strip replaces the street
The city laid out the new rules in an Oct. 7 news release. Residents are asked to rake leaves onto the devil strip, the Akron name for the grass strip between the sidewalk and the curb, rather than into the roadway.
That reverses last year’s instructions. The city’s 2025 leaf program page told residents to rake leaves into the street the day before their scheduled pickup, keeping piles within two feet of the curb, and to move cars off the street while crews worked. That page warned that vehicles left in the way could be towed or fined, and that raking leaves into the street after crews had already cleared it could also bring a fine…