Keeping the streets clean benefits residents, the environment and local businesses. Street sweeping helps reduce slip-and-fall accidents, maintains clear road markings and signs, and protects waterways from pollutants.
Help keep your neighborhood clean and green by moving your vehicle during no-parking hours on sweeping days. Keep tree limbs properly trimmed to prevent tripping or damaging comprehensive equipment. Please remove any remaining yard waste and place it in your green bin.
Cleanliness
A clean area is important for business owners because it helps prevent slip-and-fall accidents and improves the environment. It also makes customers and visitors feel comfortable. In addition, it helps reduce maintenance costs and enhances the image of a community. It’s best to schedule regular sweeping for parking lots and streets. This process can be done using a machine called a street sweeper.
It works by sweeping dirt, dust, debris, and trash into a collector, where it’s then taken to a dump truck for disposal. It’s been used for centuries, but new machines have made the job faster and more efficient.
Street sweeping Everett protects the local watershed and drinking water resources. It picks up toxins that would otherwise wash into storm drains and pollute nearby waters. Additionally, it removes grass clippings, leaves, and other yard waste that contain nitrogen or phosphorus, which can contribute to algae growth in surface water bodies.
Safety
Besides making streets safer for pedestrians, street sweeping picks up harmful substances that otherwise would be washed into our storm drains and waterways. These toxins include pesticides, fertilizers, motor oil and yard clippings. Street sweeping keeps them from polluting our environment and threatening the health of our residents, businesses and visitors.
All residents need to know when their street is scheduled for sweeping. They should move their cars to another location during sweeping hours. Otherwise, they will be ticketed. It is important to move vehicles so that the mechanical broom can sweep the entire street.
Residents and business owners should also prune overhanging trees and remove trash containers from curbs on sweeping days. Additionally, they should move any basketball hoops and refuse containers away from the curb. This allows for effective sweeping. If you don’t drive your vehicle, a large mound of dirt will prevent a full sweep.
Environment
The requirement to remove debris from streets in built-up areas has been recognized for centuries. The goal was simple in the past: to prevent flooding and maintain an aesthetic appearance. More recently, the focus has shifted to water quality. This has prompted policymakers to create more environmentally sound sweeping practices.
The street sweeper type is critical in pickup performance and fugitive dust losses. For example, using water spray during a sweeping operation has significantly reduced fugitive dust losses. The type of broom used also makes a significant difference.
One of the most important aspects of a good sweeping program is educating citizens on how to help. For instance, they should move their cars during comprehensive days in specific areas where parking is not allowed to allow the machine to clean all sidewalks and streets. Additionally, they should trim overhanging tree branches to minimize obstructions for the sweeper. They should also keep grass clippings from blowing into the street, as these can contaminate stormwater runoff.
Cost
Regular street sweeping helps prevent slip-and-fall accidents and saves taxpayers from other costly pipe repairs caused by debris buildup in the subsurface drainage system. Aside from this, a clean area provides positive first impressions to businesses and visitors.
Sweeping equipment picks up all types of debris, including dirt, leaves, and gravel, and removes it from the roadway. It then deposits the trash into a small collected pile and dumps it into an appropriate waste disposal facility.
The City of Everett encourages residents to move their vehicles during street sweeping hours for more efficient operation. The no-parking rule during street comprehensive days is strictly enforced in some areas. Residents who fail to move their cars may be ticketed in these areas. The City also offers an “Adopt-a-Street” program for groups willing to remove debris from assigned sections of streets for one year.
