Hurricane Irma: Sanibel & Captiva Islands Cleanup

Hurricane Irma: Sanibel & Captiva Islands Cleanup Update

The City Of Sanibel Issued the following news release this morning.

Vegetative Debris Removal Update

An important message from the City of Sanibel Chief of Police Bill Dalton & Public Works Director Keith Williams, PE: “Tomorrow morning, Monday, September 18^th, 2017 we will begin, Vegetative Debris Removal, the next phase of our community’s recovery from Hurricane Irma. Thus far our evacuation, re-entry & recovery from this Hurricane have been very safe for everyone. We want to continue a safe recovery. To do so we need your cooperation.

As of tomorrow morning, you will see large, heavy duty equipment & trucks, including in our residential neighborhoods, not typically seen on the roads of Sanibel. Until all the vegetative debris is removed you will see high stacks of tree branches & trunks that may impede visibility as you travel around the Island. You will also see our Traffic Aides on the main arterials directing traffic around the collection operation.

We are committed to completing this task as quickly as can be done safely. The two most important principles as we complete the removal of the Vegetative Waste from this Island will be “caution” & “patience“.

Please leave extra time for your travel around the Island, BE EXTREMELY ALERT & CAUTIOUS; carefully follow the instruction of the officers & workers on scene directing traffic.

Several final notes:

Hurricane Irma, Go Away Irma Sign, Sanibel & Captiva Islands Cleanup, September 18, 2017.

Vegetative Waste debris removal is scheduled to operate 7 days a week, 7 am to 5 pm until the task is done
Numerous “sweeps” will be made through each neighborhood over at least the next month.
Island Inn Road from the eastern gate to the mid-road cul-de-sac is closed to motorists, pedestrians & cyclists until further notice. The City will be utilizing our Island Inn Road site that has been pre-approved by the State for volume reduction of the vegetation debris. IT IS NOT SAFE TO CO-MINGLE PERSONAL VEHICLES, BICYCLISTS & PEDESTRIANS INTO THE DEBRIS TRUCK TRAFFIC BEYOND THE MARKED GATE. Once the volume reduction task is completed the road will be re-opened to pedestrians & cyclist & with the limited access to motorist permitted prior to the Hurricane. The method of reduction will be a tub grinder.
Until the removal of the vegetative debris is completed users are to refrain from utilizing any of the City’s Shared Use Paths where debris is on the path. Co-mingling of pedestrians, bicyclists, runners & heavy equipment is not safe & is to be avoided for the safety of all parties.
If you have containerized vegetative waste it will be collected by our regular hauler on your regular garbage and recycling collection day. All other vegetative waste generated by the Hurricane is to be placed at the side of the road. THE VEGETATION WASTE NEED NOT BE BUNDLED. DO NOT PLACE THE VEGETATIVE WASTE NEXT TO OR OVER A FIRE HYDRANT OR UTILITY BOX SUCH AS YOUR WATER METER.
We are finalizing plans to provide free mulch to the community. Details will be announced soon.
We will make our best effort to post our productivity reports at the end of each day.
Please do NOT approach the operators on the heavy equipment. It is dangerous for you & the operator & it slows down our mission. If you have questions please email us at [email protected] or call us at Public Works 239-472-6397 or Sanibel City Hall 239-472-3700.