Spring Clean-up of Calgary roads to begin Monday

The City’s annual Spring Clean-up street sweeping program will begin April 3, 2017.

This annual roadway maintenance program improves safety and mobility in Calgary by removing sanding materials and other debris that have accumulated on over 16,000 lane kilometres of city streets throughout winter.

Cleaning is scheduled to finish by June 1, weather permitting. Crews will sweep in residential areas seven days a week and on major roads four nights a week until the program is complete. Due to an increase in snowfall and lower temperatures, crews used 54,000 tonnes of gravel this winter, compared to 25,000 tonnes used last winter.

“Spring Clean-up is an important environmental and safety initiative for The City. Sweeping roads helps prevent cars, motorcycles, and bicycles from sliding on loose material, and reduces the amount of gravel going into our storm drains. We want to thank Calgarians in advance for keeping their streets free of vehicles so that crews can sweep as efficiently and effectively as possible,” says Road Maintenance Manager Bill Biensch.

The City is asking Calgarians to help us make a clean sweep of Calgary this spring. Remove vehicles and carts from the street when sweeping is scheduled. Keeping the road clear of vehicles and other objects will help crews sweep faster and more effectively.

If your vehicle is left on the road when street cleaning is scheduled, you may receive a ticket and, in some cases, your vehicle will be towed. The ticket fine amount associated with street sweeping is $120; however, if paid within 10 days it is reduced to $80, or $90 within 30 days.

This year, Calgarians have more ways than ever to find out when their street is scheduled for sweeping. Watch for community signs placed around your neighbourhood prior to sweeping. Visit calgary.ca/sweep to check the schedule, view a live map to track sweeper progress, and sign up for new text and email notifications.

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