City ready to sweep winter off the streets

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on April 8, 2025.

Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman Street Sweepers perform a demonstration Monday morning during a media availability to announce the start of residential street sweeping along Blackwolf Blvd North.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

With winter and the need for salt and sand on the roads in the rearview mirror, the City of Lethbridge has announced the beginning of seasonal street sweeping.

Residential street sweeping starts today and will continue every weekday from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the next eight to 10 weeks, weather permitting. Signs will be visible the day before to alert motorists of soon-to-be-swept areas.

Juliane Ruck, Transportation Operations Manager, says the city provides an annual street sweeping program where multiple crews are deployed to neighbourhoods across the city to clear left-over sand, salt and debris from snow removal during the winter months.

“We have a large crew working at night in the main, arterial and collector roads, and during the day we conduct residential sweeping,” says Ruck.

Night sweeping started Sunday and will continue Sundays to Thursdays from 9 p.m. to 6 p.m. during the next six to eight weeks.

Ruck says residents in the North side of the city by Senator Buchanan area should be prepared for the beginning of sweeping starting today.

“From there we’ll try to avoid garbage cart pickup, so schedules are adjusted accordingly, because it is cumbersome to maneuver around the carts when they are out.”

Ruck says that streets are scheduled for sweeping but rain and high winds can cause delays and residents can find out where the sweepers are and what zones have been completed by visiting the Live Street Sweeping Map.

“This winter was quite challenging for streets and roads operations, we had to apply a lot of sand and salt, so that is what we are coming out to pick up. It’s to protect the environment, so this stuff doesn’t end up in the storm water system and to create safety for everybody that travels along the roads.”

She adds that collected sand from winter ice control is reconditioned and reused in the following year’s sanding operations and residual waste material is disposed of in the landfill.

“Lots of residents are really excited to have their street cleaned, but when vehicles are parked on the street, we can’t sweep those spots, and our sweepers will not come back to those areas,” Ruck points out.

Since signs are placed the day before to warn residents where street sweeping will take place, vehicles parked on the area after signs are placed may be ticketed.

To avoid being ticketed, residents are reminded to move their vehicles off the street before 7:30 a.m. during street sweeping days. Parking can resume after 4 p.m. daily, but vehicles must be moved again the next morning if signs are still present. Once the area is complete, signs will be removed, and on-street parking can fully resume.

For more information, visit lethbridge.ca/StreetSweeping