A report heading to the Environment, Transportation & Public Safety Meeting on Wednesday will ask the committee to approve a pilot project that would move garbage collection in certain parts of Ward 3 from the alley to curbside for a period of 8 weeks.
The proposed pilot would be conducted in the Pelissier/Victoria alley between Tecumseh Rd. W. and Jackson St, as well as the Dougall/Church alley between Tecumseh Rd. W, and Wahketa Street.
The pilot comes as the city looks to completely eliminate garbage collection from alleyways, where possible, to improve collection efficiencies around the city.
In May, the committee voted to defer the issue until administration provided an Alley Minimum Maintenance Standards report.
Ward 3 councillor Renaldo Agostino says the pilot is about having less garbage flowing around in city alleys and giving people more accountability.
"What I'd like to see in certain circumstances, in certain neighbourhoods, where there is a problem, where there's more accountability, to say hey listen 'you put your garbage out front'. And then if someone's not adhering by the rules and not putting lids on their garbage cans or not doing things properly, you're kinda stuck between a rock and a hard place. Everyone is watching you, so you've really got to adhere by the rules."
He says some residents are opposed to this change.
"My alley for the most part is pretty clean but right across the street from me, it's a disaster. They're dealing with a lot of problems there. So I think there's an opportunity to try something new and I think that's one of the things a lot of people don't like doing but this is how you get to the answers. You try things, you try new things, you try outside of the box things, you try things that are working in other areas."
Agostino says he would like to see homeowners own their alleys, alleys turn into grassways, and alleys used as spaces where people can walk dogs.
"I want to try something that I believe is common sense and I know people that this is just another last ditch effort to get rid of alleys, and we're not going to take care of them if we don't have garbage going through them and I'm like, we're not really taking care of them now. So we've got to see some progress here and if it takes a step in the right direction to change that, I'm all for it."
If the pilot is approved by committee it will head to council for final approval.
It is estimated that the eight week pilot project would start sometime in September.
A two to three week education campaign will take place prior to the start to advise homeowners of the change.
After the pilot program has ended, residents will be instructed to resume placing waste back in the alley for collection.
-With files from AM800's Kathie McMann