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
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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.