City-wide street sweeping begins April 10
Weather permitting, an annual rite of spring in Minneapolis begins Tuesday, April 10. That’s when Public Works crews are set to begin a comprehensive sweeping of all city streets to clean up all the dirt and grime the melting ice and snow left behind on our streets. Street sweepings of parkways and alleys are already taking place, along with some downtown night sweeping. Drivers should watch for temporary “no parking” signs along these roadways to avoid a ticket and tow.
From now through the week of April 30, sweepers will take care of all 1,100 miles of city streets and parkways. To make sure the sweepers can do the best job possible, temporary “No Parking” signs will be posted at least 24 hours in advance to make sure streets and parkways are clear of parked vehicles. Residents need to follow street sweep parking rules or they may have their cars ticketed and towed to the Minneapolis Impound Lot.
“No Parking” signs – Now on the parkways and starting April 10 on City streets, crews will post “No Parking” signs at least 24 hours before sweeping any streets. Parking will be banned from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on the day a street is swept. The “No Parking” signs will be removed as soon as possible after a street has been completely swept to allow people to resume parking. Drivers should not park along these streets until these temporary “No Parking” signs are removed.
Phone calls to residents – In addition to the “No Parking” signs that will be posted the day before sweepers come through, the City will make about 3,500 automated phone calls each evening to let residents know their street will be swept the next day.
Interactive Web tool – Folks can use a tool on the City’s Web site to find out when the sweepers are coming through their neighborhoods. Click on “street sweeping schedule lookup,” to find out which week a street is scheduled to be swept. The weekend before that week, they can revisit the Web site to find out which day of the week the street is scheduled to be swept.
Clean streets mean a healthier environment
Minneapolis is known for its sparkling lakes and waterways, and we want to keep it that way. That’s why protecting and enhancing our environment is one of the City’s top priorities. Street sweeping is one way we work to protect our environment because it keeps leaves and debris from clogging our storm drains and polluting our lakes and rivers. It also helps keep our neighborhoods clean and livable.
Minneapolis streets are swept completely curb to curb once in the spring and once in the fall.
Residents should not push leaves, grass clippings, or other debris into City streets – it’s bad for our lakes and waterways and it’s against the law. Anything that goes down a storm drain flows directly into our lakes and river, and decomposing plant material in the water encourages the growth of harmful aquatic plants and algae.
Published Mar. 28, 2012