Cleanup of Calgary's streets starts April 14

Brendan Coulter · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 10, 2025 4:13 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

After months of dumping brackish and soil worldly to fend disconnected harsh wintertime driving conditions, the clip has travel for the metropolis to commencement sweeping the streets. 

Crews volition rotation retired connected Monday, April 14, for the yearly outpouring cleanup.

Street sweeping volition proceed weekdays from 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. until astir June 20, depending connected the weather, to tidy up much than 17,000 lane-kilometres of roadway astir the city. 

Calgarians should ticker successful their neighbourhoods for "No Parking" signs, which volition beryllium successful spot astatine slightest 12 hours earlier sweeping crews amusement up.

"The sweeping programme [is] precise overmuch a collaborative effort," said Chris Hewitt, manager for mobility attraction astatine the City of Calgary. "We conscionable inquire that radical support those cars disconnected the road, please, truthful we tin bash the occupation and bash it nicely."

Any cars recovered violating the parking rules volition beryllium mailed a $80-$120 summons from Calgary Parking. 

Last year, the city's parking authorization issued much than 27,000 tickets for thoroughfare sweeping violations. 

"The bulk of the areas we enforce, it's conscionable a consecutive ticket," said Charles Gray, patrol and investigations supervisor with Calgary Parking.

"There are immoderate precise precocious dense areas, particularly successful the core, wherever we bash person to abbreviated tow vehicles to get them retired of the mode for sweepers. But implicit 90 per cent of our sweeps don't impact towing."

The metropolis is besides asking residents to marque definite obstructions similar non-standard driveway ramps, hoops hoops and bins are disconnected the roadworthy erstwhile sweeping vehicles amusement up.

Calgarians readying to permission their cars successful alleyways connected sweeping time should marque definite they're parked astatine slightest five metres distant from the alley entranceway to debar a ticket. 

Residents tin program up by utilizing the city's online code hunt instrumentality to spot their scheduled thoroughfare sweeping date. 

Street sweeping prevents aerial and h2o pollution

The programme typically collects astir 50,000 tons of material, which is either recycled for usage successful aboriginal winters oregon utilized arsenic capable successful the landfills, according to Hewitt.

Over the winter, metropolis crews dropped astir 40,000 tons of "pickle" onto Calgary's roads — little of the salt-gravel substance than what is typically needed.

"We didn't person rather arsenic overmuch acold and snowfall this year. We did person that acold spell successful February, but extracurricular of that we were capable to conserve this year," said Hewitt.

The thoroughfare sweeping programme keeps that worldly from moving disconnected into Calgary's waterways and cuts down connected aerial pollution. 

Street sweeping volition not hap connected statutory holidays but volition spell up connected national predetermination day, April 28.