Red Deerians can expect to see cleaner streets sooner than last year because of the mild winter and early spring. City crews are preparing to start street sweeping downtown on April 15th. The median sweeping crew began scheduled sweeping on April 9th and is working during the evenings from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m.

In order to maximize efficiencies, street sweeping operations this year may not follow the same set routine as in the past.

There will some partial residential sweeping going on the same time as arterial and collector sweeping. This is schedule will make best use of equipment productivity during arterial and collector sweeping.

Full residential sweeping will still occur at the end of the sweeping operation.

“Residents are also asked not to park on the street when the signs are present. ‘No Parking’ signs are placed on the streets to be swept before the work begins, “said Jim Chase, the City’s roads superintendent. “Sometimes due to unforeseen events, some signs may remain on the streets for two to three days until the streets are swept and residents are requested to watch for and obey the signs in their areas.”

When necessary, street signs indicating that crews will be arriving are placed in neighbourhoods 24 hours in advance and the City encourages residents to remove litter and debris from boulevards attached to their residential or commercial properties.

“This year we are giving a heads-up on facebook and Twitter to residents, letting them know when we are going to be there in a planned event. As always this is depending on Mother Nature. There may be instances where street sweeping will occur in residential areas without signing.”

– Fawcett