News Release: Leaf Day returns Saturday, Nov. 1, reaching 30,000 new addresses with specialized street cleaning to prevent street flooding, road hazards

Press Release

Thousands of addresses added to Leaf Day zones

(Oct. 30, 2025) The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) announced today that Leaf Day service will return Saturday, Nov. 1, launching weeks of upcoming work that prevents street flooding in areas that account for the vast majority of leaves that fall on city streets.

PBOT has provided Leaf Day service for more than 30 years, using specialized equipment to sweep thousands of tons of leaves from parts of the city with the most dense leaf cover.

Thanks to additional funding from the City Council, PBOT is undertaking its largest expansion of Leaf Day service in modern memory. The service will cover 82 zones, up from 53 zones of various sizes that historically had the service. New zones were added in each of the four City Council Districts.

This fall, PBOT mailed Leaf Day brochures to nearly 100,000 business and residential addresses. Among those, about 30,000 also received a postcard, announcing they are included in a Leaf Zone for the first time and encouraging those Portlanders to learn how to prepare for the service.

After Saturday, the service continues, covering a few neighborhoods each day, six days a week, through mid January, with a break for holidays including Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. In prior years, crews could cover the routes from early November to mid December.

It's important for everyone who lives or works in a Leaf Zone to know how to prepare for Leaf Day -- especially the thousands of Portlanders who are getting the service for the first time this year:

• Know your Leaf Day: Check our Leaf Day website to verify which Leaf Day zone you are in. Enter your address to find your service date and zone. You can also browse an interactive map to see your Leaf Day zone. If you don't have off-street parking, study the boundaries of your zone, to know where you can park your car on the street outside your zone, in preparation for Leaf Day.
  
  
• Get prepared by raking your leaves into the street, the day before your service, pulling your leaf pile at least a foot away from the curb. Don't place branches, grass clippings or other yard debris in your pile, but pine and fir needles are OK. Remove your vehicle from the street, or out of the zone.
  
  The Leaf Day website has lots of tips, and a copy of the brochure we sent you in the mail. For a quick overview, check out a new Video PBOT prepared: How to Prepare for Leaf Day in Portland!
  
  
• Don't get towed: If you park a car on the street in Northwest Portland, Goose Hollow or Sullivan's Gulch, your car may be towed on Leaf Day to clear the way for a clean sweep. Mark your calendar and move your car, so you don't get towed!

This work is weather-dependent, and the schedule may change.

Schedule updates, if needed, will be provided on the Leaf Day website and to the email and text message contact lists.

VIDEO:
Learn how to prepare for your Leaf Day, and help us get the cleanest sweep possible

See and hear this video at PBOT's YouTube channel

Stay up to date!

Sign up for weekly email or text reminders about the next week's Leaf Day service dates and zones

For decades, the bureau has collected leaves and swept streets in designated Leaf Zones, locations that account for the vast majority of leaves that fall on city streets.

Leaf Day leaf removal is funded by two sources. First, general transportation revenue -- made up of the city's portion of the State Highway Fund and local parking meter revenue. A second, additional funding source was made this year with the Mayor's direction of stormwater management funding to the program.

For the 2025-2026 Leaf Day season, PBOT added 29 zones. Historically, PBOT had to discontinue residential street sweeping citywide. However, investment from the city's 2025-26 budget gave PBOT the opportunity to rebuild the program.

PBOT crews continue to sweep 1,000 miles of major arterial streets six to eight times per year as well as protected bike lanes several times per year. Sweeping of busy streets happens at night -- when there is less traffic and fewer parked cars and other obstructions.

For emergency road hazards, clogged storm drains, or other hazards in the right-of-way such as downed signs, continue to contact PBOT's 24/7 Maintenance Dispatch at 503-823-1700. For helpful tips on year-round maintenance of your street please visit our Street sweeping and cleaning page.

2025 Leaf Day expansion reaches neighborhoods across City Council District 1, including Lents, Montavilla, Parkrose and Centennial

This image from PBOT's interactive map of Leaf Day zones shows some East Portland neighborhoods that will receive the service for the first time this year.

2025 Leaf Day expansion reaches neighborhoods in City Council District 4, including Multnomah, Maplewood and Hillsdale

This image from PBOT's interactive map of Leaf Day zones shows some Southwest Portland neighborhoods that will receive the service for the first time this year.

Leaves create slick hazards, clog storm drains

Portland's tree canopy covers a significant portion of the city. In autumn, wet fallen leaves can become very slick, creating potential hazards for people walking, biking, rolling or driving through tree-lined neighborhoods. Leaves can also clog storm drains and thus contribute to street flooding during heavy fall rains. To help address these hazards, city crews remove thousands of cubic yards of leaves from Portland streets each year.

Residents in the Leaf Day zones should move their cars and other obstacles from the street and limb their street trees to clear the way for large trucks prior to their Leaf Day service to facilitate a more effective clean-up.

Live or work in Northwest Portland,
Sullivan's Gulch or Goose Hollow?

Don't Get Towed!

Sign up for weekly email or text alerts that will remind you of upcoming Leaf Day service in tow zones

Moving your vehicle is NOT OPTIONAL in the following Leaf Day zones, where residents have asked us for many years to tow vehicles because of the high number of cars parked on Leaf Day:

• Northwest: Zones NW 2, NW 3, NW 4, NW 6, NW 7, NW 8 and NW 9
• Southwest: Zones SW 1 and SW 2
• Sullivan's Gulch in Northeast: Zone NE 14

Questions?

Call the City's 311 Information and Customer Service Center

Dial 311, or 503-823-4000.

Dispatchers standing by, seven days a week, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. (excluding federal holidays) Interpretation available

We're ready to help with clear answers and additional resources.

You can also email us at [email protected]

Interpretación disponible | Phiên dịch có sẵn | 提供口译服务 | Доступна интерпретация | Tafsiir la heli karo | Доступний переклад

Got a suggestion for next year?

Let us know!

Provide feedback on Leaf Day

Only use this online form for general feedback about the Leaf Day program or to suggest changes to routes or service in the future. These are shared with PBOT's Maintenance Operations team for consideration.

For issues with service during this year's Leaf Day season, call or email us at the City's 311 Information and Customer Service Center.

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The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) is the steward of the City's transportation system, and a community partner in shaping a livable city. We plan, build, manage and maintain an effective and safe transportation system that provides access and mobility.