Motorists and pedestrians are urged to use caution around cleanup crews and equipment
WINNIPEG - April 5, 2012 - City of Winnipeg crews will begin major cleanup activities this Monday night, April 9, 2012, as the annual spring cleanup operation of streets, sidewalks and back lanes, gets underway on a city-wide basis.
So far this spring, due to warm temperatures, sweeping crews have been able to get some preliminary cleanup activities accomplished in the Downtown area, on regional streets, as well as on bridges and overpasses.
"In the weeks ahead, crews will be focused on cleaning up the city. During these operations, road safety is important to everyone as traffic in some areas may be temporarily altered to facilitate the cleanup operations. Motorists and pedestrians are reminded to use extra caution when in the vicinity of cleanup crews and heavy equipment that will be working," said Ken Boyd, Manager of Streets Maintenance.
During spring clean-up operations the City places temporary "no parking" signs to restrict on-street parking on some streets that are scheduled to be cleaned. When these signs are in place on a city street, motorists are encouraged to move their vehicles to alternative parking locations during the posted times. Vehicles parked in violation of the temporary parking ban may be ticketed and towed.
The public is reminded that under the Neighbourhood Liveability By-law, it is a ticketable offense to place portable signage on boulevards and sidewalks because it is a safety concern for the public and City employees.
The major cleanup of boulevards and parks will commence a week later on Monday, April 16.
The $4.5 million cleanup is expected to take four to five weeks to complete and will involve approximately 300 pieces of equipment and more than 500 people.
How can the public help?
Property owners are asked not to rake yard waste material (e.g., grass clippings, leaves) or other debris onto streets, manhole covers or ditches. Such waste can plug the street drains, cause water ponding problems on the street, and could also increase the risk of basement flooding by causing water to drain into the wastewater sewer through manhole covers.
Residents can help out with their city's cleanup by raking and bagging their yard waste and dropping it off at one of the City of Winnipeg's free Leaf It With Us depots now open.
To find a Leaf It With Us depot location near you:
- contact our 311 Contact Centre, open 24 hours every day, by phone at 311 or by email at 311@winnipeg.ca
- call the 24-hour recorded yard waste information line at 204-986-8888, code 9813
- call the 24-hour recorded Brady Road information line at 204-986-8888, code 9814
- visit winnipeg.ca/waterandwaste