Clean Sweep: Calgary Street Sweep begins April 15th

Follow the signs and move your cars, street sweeps will begin April 15th in Calgary.

Street sweeping removes winter debris and debris from the road. The program begins in mid-April (weather permitting) and runs through June, with community hours Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“Spring cleaning helps reduce litter entering waterways and keeps our neighborhoods safe and clean for everyone,” said Adam Pawlak, director of mobility planning and operations.

“The success of the program is a collaboration between the city and Calgarians. Before you clean up, pay attention to the signs that appear in the community.”

The spring cleaning program has a budget of approximately $7 million and the city sweeps more than 16,000 lane kilometers of road each year. Main roads are usually swept at night, Pawlak said.

Planned communities will be moved to the end of the cleanup program during weather impacts.

“We are now closely monitoring the forecast and can quickly make adjustments to our cleanup program,” Pawlak said.

City crews will post “No Parking” signs at street sweeping locations several days in advance. The city recommends using back roads, driveways and garages as alternative parking spaces

The parking ban will be in effect Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. During this time, vehicles left on the street can be ticketed by camera-equipped vehicles at the Calgary Parking Lot. Tickets will be mailed.

“A good tip to avoid a ticket is to keep your car off the road during the restricted time as street sweepers will be passing by multiple times,” said Todd Sullivan with the Calgary Parking Patrol and Investigations.

“We coordinate deployment with Mobility to ensure our cameras and sweepers work as closely as possible.”

Tickets start at $80 if paid within 10 days, $90 within 30 days and $120 after 30 days, according to the City of Calgary website.

Calgary Parking issues 25 to 30,000 tickets a season, Sullivan said.

“We want the streets to be clean and we're happy to do anything we can to help with maintenance in that process,” Sullivan said.

Calgarians can find a scheduled sweep date by visiting calgary.ca/sweep.