Down With Leaf Blowers!

Unfortunately, our Market Street at Town Center Condominium Unit Owners Association appears to be contributing to pollution by leaf blowers in our own community. Today--and previously as well--I saw, heard and smelled leaf blower machines being operated right up to the GRACE windows on St. Francis Street, and continuing farther south on the St. Francis Street sidewalk next to our building.

Leaf blower machines pollute in three ways: noise, fumes, and particles into the air. I find the engine noise unpleasant and inappropriate near a residential community such as ours. The gasoline exhaust fumes are unpleasant and unhealthy. And think of the dust, leaf mold, pollen, bacteria, germs and viruses that leaf blowers blow into the air, probably risking our health.

The operators of the leaf blowers aren’t cleaning up the leaves and particles; they are just blowing stuff around, often onto St. Francis Street! Many of those unhealthy particles--as well as the leaves themselves--end up back on the ground again, ready for a future leaf-blowing operation to spew them into the air again!

What are alternatives to leaf blowing? Some combination of leaving (no pun intended) the leaves where they lay, sucking up the leaves with a quiet electric leaf vacuum cleaner, sweeping them with a broom, or washing them away with a water hose seems appropriate to me.

The corrective action our Board of Directors should take is to award no future contracts that permit any leaf blowing. Our Association shouldn’t be inflicting this ridiculous leaf-blowing folly upon its own residents!

I welcome comments from Market Street at Town Center Condominium unit owners on my forum at http://mstcuoa.proboards.com or by emailing me at rasmussen305@gmail.com.