Calgary street sweeping season arrives with a warning to motorists

The City of Calgary’s annual street sweeping campaign begins on Monday, April 15 and, in advance of the big day, signs are already popping up in neighbourhoods around the city warning drivers to be prepared to move their vehicles.

The residential street sweeping campaign runs weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the signs will let residents know the date work will be done in their community.

“Historically the street sweeping season has started in mid-April, depending on the severity of the winter we have had,” says Adam Pawlack from the City of Calgary’s roads department. “Our target is to complete the sweeping program before the end of June and the start of Stampede.”

The city has a fleet of 32 sweeping vehicles and Pawlack says during a typical year they will sweep about 16 thousand kilometres of roadway.

The Calgary Parking Authority says a third of its license plate photo enforcement vehicles are dedicated to the program while street sweeping is taking place.

Residents who fail to remove their vehicles prior to the start of street sweeping operations in their neighbourhood face a fine of $70, and the fee jumps to $90 if the ticket is not paid promptly.

“We do expect each year to issue anywhere from 25 to 30 thousand tickets during a single season”, says Todd Sullivan of the Calgary Parking Authority.

Offenders may also have their vehicles towed.  “During the street sweeping program, any vehicles that are towed in relation to the cleanup will be towed a few blocks away to the nearest possible location out of the way of the street sweeping operation,” says Sullivan.

The city says it is important for residents to remove their vehicles for the entire time period listed on the signs in their neighbourhood.

“The number of passes our sweepers do on a street will depend on the amount of accumulated material,” explained Pawlack. “On average we will do three passes on each side of a street to fully clear the street.”

The budget for the city’s annual spring clean-up program is about $7 million and Pawlack says there are a number of benefits.  “Improved water quality from the debris being removed from our storm water system, reduced dust and air pollution and also improved mobility on our streets and sidewalks.”

Calgarians can also find out their scheduled sweeping date by entering their address on the City of Calgary’s street cleaning website where they can also sign up to receive an email or text notification the day before sweeping in their neighbourhood begins.

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