KITCHENER -- City officials in Kitchener and Waterloo are asking residents to wait for their scheduled pick up week before raking their leaves onto the curb and street.

Residential collection will start soon in the cities and crews are already out out cleaning bike lanes to keep cyclists safe.

Crews said some residents are raking their leaves too early and too far into the street.

Leaf collection officially begins on Monday and residents have several options, including raking loose leaves to the side of the road. However, they're being asked to wait until their pick up week.

The City of Waterloo's collection plan is divided into four zones, each with a different estimated collection date. That plan can be found here.

"We've assigned areas by weeks in the city and they're posted coming into the neighbourhood," said Tim Conyard, manager of transportation and operations with the City of Waterloo. "As a result, we ask people to rake their leaves a week before we're due to arrive."

Conyard said leaving leaves in bike lanes and on streets can be a hazard.

"Too many leaves on the road, they'll start to plug the catch basins," he said.

He said people should rake their leaves onto the boulevard or as close to the curb as possible.

Some residents are also noticing improper leaf disposal.

"You hope that everyone's doing their share and their part, but that's not always the case," resident Jim Wager said.

The city said the program only collects fallen leaves from trees close to the road, not from the whole property. That rule also applies in Kitchener, where collection starts on Nov. 9.

"There are four areas, four zones that receive loose leaf collection," said Roslyn Lusk, director of operations, roads and traffic with the City of Kitchener.

Those areas are available here.

"If you don't fall within a collection zone, we do have eight leaf depots across the city," Lusk said.

Residents from both cities can bag their leaves and put them out as yard waste or mulch them.

Kitchener's leaf collection program ends on Nov. 27 and Waterloo's on Nov. 28.