Eugene’s tree-lined streets become picturesque each fall, dotted with scenic orange and red leaves.
When cold weather and rain prevail, those leaves blanket roads and sidewalks, creating slippery situations for pedestrians and bicyclists.
And residents may be legally responsible to ensure the safety of passersby.
Although the city’s municipal code doesn’t require Eugeneans to rake leaves, it does mandate that property tenants maintain the sidewalks adjacent to their property in safe condition, said Eric Johnson, Public Works maintenance operations manager.
This section of the Eugene Code, enacted in 1971, prohibits property tenants from having “nuisances affecting the public” on or around their properties, including vegetation, leaves, trip hazards, snow and ice.
If they fail to keep walkways clear, they may risk facing a legal battle.
“This is a really tricky area,” said Ilona Koleszar, an attorney for ASUO Legal Services.
There’s not a black and white area because cases like these are complaint-driven and subjective, she said. Residents could enter troubled waters when their piles of leaves reflect negligence – when someone has a duty, breaches that duty and it results in someone being hurt.
A potential lawsuit might depend on whether property tenants have been notified about the safety hazard, making slippery leaves a foreseeable cause of injury, she said.
For example, if a postal worker slips on a resident’s sidewalk while dropping off the mail and informs the resident, and then someone else slips and breaks a leg a few days later, that is pertinent information, Koleszar said.
Cases like these demand “fact-specific” evidence and often aren’t successful for the plaintiffs, she said.
Slick, leaf-coated pavement may also be hazardous for drivers.
While no pedestrian ha asked Koleszar for legal advice after slipping on leaves, plenty of drivers have sought her help to compile a case, she said.
“I wouldn’t want that case,” she said. “Car drivers need to be aware of hazards like leaves.”
The Eugene City Council significantly amended the ordinance last June, requiring new residential and commercial developments to have stormwater facilities that absorb stormwater on site rather than carrying it into the Willamette River, City Councilor David Kelly said.
Better stormwater facilities will help with flood control and water quality, but presents slightly higher costs for land developers, Kelly said.
Every fall since the late 1960s, the city’s Public Works department Leaf Collection and Delivery Program has picked up piles of leaves from residences to prevent leaves from flooding streets and lowering water quality.
The program collects roughly 15,000 cubic yards each year, Johnson said.
Leaf collectors will visit University neighborhood curbs beginning Nov. 20.
Contact the crime, health and safety reporter at [email protected]