Winnipeg, MB - City of Winnipeg crews will begin the annual spring cleanup operation of streets, sidewalks and back lanes this Sunday night, April 28, 2013.
Sweeping crews will initially focus their cleanup activities in the downtown area, on regional streets, as well as on bridges and overpasses.
"In the weeks ahead, crews will focus on cleaning up the city. 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 Jim Berezowsky, Manager of Streets Maintenance.
During spring cleanup 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 centre medians, boulevards and sidewalks because it is a safety concern for the public and City employees.
The major cleanup of boulevards and parks will commence, weather permitting, on Sunday night, May 5. Cleanup will focus on boulevards on regional streets, bus routes and collector streets.
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 urged not to rake yard waste material (e.g., grass clippings, leaves) or other debris onto the streets as it can plug the street drains. Plugged 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 are cautioned not to place yard waste material into manholes or ditches, as this can also cause flooding problems.
The seasonal curbside yard waste collection program starts Monday, April 29. Residents can put their yard waste at the curb and it will be collected once every two weeks, on the same day of the week that the garbage and recycling carts are emptied. Yard waste must be placed in reusable containers without a lid (e.g., old blue boxes, old garbage containers) or compostable paper yard waste bags.
Residents can also take their yard waste to the compost area at the Brady Road Landfill. Yard waste will not be accepted in plastic bags, either at the curb or at the landfill. Tipping fees do not apply to loads of only yard waste (no garbage in the vehicle).