Multiple notifications make it easy to do your part to help the environment
Public Works crews are gearing up to start the City’s comprehensive street sweeping program to clear away what had accumulated in the streets over the winter. The City scheduled Tuesday, April 21 for the first day of sweeping. Drivers should watch for temporary “No Parking” signs.
Starting April 21 for approximately four weeks, sweeping crews will take care of more than 1,000 miles of city streets in addition to sweeping alleys. To make sure the crews can do the most complete job possible, temporary “No Parking” signs will be posted at least 24 hours in advance to make sure streets are clear of parked vehicles. Drivers need to do their part in making this successful and follow street sweeping parking rules, or they may have their cars ticketed and towed.
The City is required to do two curb-to-curb sweeps each year. Street sweeping helps keep our neighborhoods clean and livable, helps to reduce intersection flooding and protects our waterways. Residents, workers and visitors have several ways to find out more about street sweeping:
• “No Parking” signs – 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 – People can use a tool on the City’s website to find out when the sweeping crews are coming through their neighborhoods. Go to www.minneapolismn.gov/publicworks/streetsweeping and 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 website to find out which day of the week the street is scheduled to be swept.
• Videos – Street sweeping is explained in English, Spanish, Somali and Hmong in short videos at YouTube.com/cityofminneapolis and on City cable channels. Residents who have friends or neighbors who speak these languages are encouraged to share links to the videos.
o English: See how and why Minneapolis sweeps streets and what you can do to help keep streets and waterways clean.
o Spanish: Vea en este video de las series “Sabia Usted” como y porque Minneapolis barre las calles y limpia las vias fluviales.
o Somali: Ka daawo fiidyowga taxanaha… ee Minneapolis ee loo yaqaan “Ma Ogtahay” siyaabaha iyo sababaha minneapolis jidadka ay u xaaqido oo ogow sidii aad uga caawin lahayd ilaalinta nadaafada jidadka iyo biyo mareenada.
o Hmong: Yog xav paub ntxiv, sais nroog Minneapolis cov tshooj xov xwm hu, “Koj pos paub.”
Street sweeping helps reduce pollution in lakes, Mississippi River
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, trash and other pollutants from clogging our storm drains and polluting our lakes and the Mississippi River. It also helps keep our neighborhoods clean and livable.
Residents should not push leaves, grass clippings, or anything else 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, creeks and river, and decomposing plant material in the water encourages the growth of harmful aquatic plants and algae.