Leafblowers!!! (Los Angeles, Sunnyvale, Los Altos: neighborhood, maintenance, live)

[Balls211]

What's up with these guys blowing the leaves like 4 or 5 times a week usually starting at 7:30 in the morning. I have to get up early anyways, but I'm sure there are a lot of people still sleeping at this time and those things are super loud. They blow the leaves and debris all over the cars parked on the street and just make a mess. I think those things should be banned. Completely ridiculous. I actually feel like yelling at these dudes, but I'm sure that won't do anything. Just wondering if any other people are dealing with these horrible machines early in the morning.

[MaikeerinWA]

I think they are banned in several cities and towns in California, such as Los Altos. Others, like Sunnyvale, limit on their use:

City of Sunnyvale: Property Maintenance Requirements

Leafblowers: It is unlawful to use a leafblower in any residential area except between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. All leaf blowers operated in or adjacent to a residential area shall operate at or below a noise level of 65 dBA (decibel level) at a distance of 50 feet, as determined by a test conducted by the American National Standards Institute or an equivalent. The dBA rating shall be prominently displayed on the leaf blower.

[bigdumbgod]

They get banned in places where the residents are rich enough to afford gardeners that will use rakes.

[TheGreatCurve]

Yeah, I agree. Leafblowers blow, literally and figuratively. I hate them. I think they should be banned everywhere. Not only are they incredibly annoying and disturb the peace, they also pollute the environment and add to smog. The icing on the cake is that I never see these guys with the leafblowers ever pick up any leaves nor debris. They just blow it around but it's never actually removed. It's like they blow the leaves from one side of the street to the other and then the next day they come back and blow the same leaves back to where they were before. I never actually see them pick up and remove the leaves. It's totally ridiculous! Why can't they just use rakes and then put the piles of leaves into garbage bags like I used to do when I was a kid?

[jbunniii]

The city of Los Angeles banned their use in 1998, but the ban didn't seem to have much effect that I could discern when I lived there. Gardeners continued using them, apparently without consequence.