With fall approaching, crews are preparing to sweep streets across Minneapolis to completely clean the streets prior to winter, and keep leaves and debris out of the storm drains and ending up in our lakes and rivers as much as possible.
Minneapolis Public Works will begin the big task of curb-to-curb sweeping and leaf collection on streets throughout the city on Tuesday, October 23. During the four weeks of the comprehensive fall street sweep, crews will clean about 1,000 miles of city streets. To make sure crews can do the best job possible, temporary “No Parking” signs will be posted at least 24 hours in advance so streets will be clear of cars when they’re swept. Anyone who parks on the street will need to follow posted parking rules or their cars may be ticketed and towed.
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 with enforcement of parking rules once in the spring, and again in the fall. Residents should not push leaves, grass clippings or other debris into City streets – it’s bad for our lakes and waterways, can cause safety hazards, and is 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.