Street sweeping set to begin April 12
Weather permitting, an annual rite of spring in Minneapolis begins Tuesday, April 12. Thats 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. Some downtown night sweeping and parkway sweeping, both with parking restrictions, started this week, while alley sweeping began on April 4, and will continue until all alleys are swept. Over the course of approximately four weeks, sweepers will take care of all 1,100 miles of city streets.
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 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 – As the sweep gets under way, City 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 – Starting this weekend, folks will be able to use a tool on the City's website to find out when the sweepers are coming through their neighborhoods. By going to the street sweep website and clicking on " street sweeping schedule lookup," residents can find out which week their street is scheduled to be swept. The weekend before that week, they can revisit the website to find out which day of the week the street is scheduled to be swept.
Clean streets mean a healthier environment
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 Apr. 7, 2011