Lethbridge living May/June 2017 | Page 14

living WHAT’S UP WITH… Street Sweeping LEE PERKINS, T R A N S P O R TAT I O N O P E R AT I O N S M A N A G E R , C I T Y O F L E T H B R I D G E P H OT O G R A P H Y: C O U RT E S Y O F C I T Y O F L E T H B R I D G E E A C H S P R I N G , City of Lethbridge street sweeping crews clean thousands of tonnes of sand, dust, and other debris from about 540 km of local roads. This helps to prevent that material from being washed into the Oldman River via our storm sewer system. It also reduces airborne dust in neighbourhoods and makes the streets safer for cycling, walking, and driving. Every public road in the city is swept each year. Street sweeping usually begins in early to mid-April, weather permitting. If the weather cooperates, street sweeping the entire city is finished by the end of June. To help crews do a thorough cleanup, residents need to move their vehicles off streets scheduled for cleaning. Signs are placed in neighbourhoods ahead of time to let residents know when sweeping in the area will occur, and to advise that they need to park elsewhere on that day. A door hanger will also arrive at your home about a week before sweepers will be in your neighbourhood, and the evening before sweepers arrive, “NO PARKING” signs will be posted 14 LETHBRIDGELIVING.COM M AY- J U N 2 0 1 7 and reminder cards will be placed on windshields of vehicles parked on the street. Vehicles still parked on the street the morning after the “NO PARKING” signs have been placed will be ticketed–the fine is $30 under the City of Lethbridge Traffic Bylaw. Street sweeping is scheduled so that it doesn’t conflict with garbage pickup. Roads need to be dry for street sweepers to be effective, as sweeping when roads are wet leaves a trail of mud and debris instead of a clean street. So, if it’s raining on the day sweeping is scheduled on your street, sweeping will be delayed until the rain lets up. Do you have a question you’d like to ask the City of Lethbridge? Submit it to [email protected] and we’ll get you some answers! Visit www.lethbridge.ca/StreetSweeping for more information about street sweeping.