Street Sweeping & Flushing

Questions & Answers About Street Sweeping

• What are the Spring Street Sweeping priorities?

  Spring Street sweeping commences as early as late February, weather permitting. The downtown core, main streets or "arterials", including 32nd Street and Highway 6 are completed first. Street sweeping priorities are based on the volume of vehicle traffic on roadways where winter road sand may generate excessive dust.

  Once all the snow and ice has melted from the road shoulders and curbs, the spring sweeping program is started aggressively. The city’s street sweeper as well as private sector sweepers are dispatched to sweep all areas of the City of Vernon as quickly as possible. During spring sweeping, the City has equipment operating between the hours of 4 am and 8 pm.

• Why do street sweepers have to delay traffic?

  In an effort to increase efficiency, street sweepers may unload debris directly into dump trucks. Traffic may be delayed for short periods (approximately three minutes) during this process. The City appreciates driver patience while this process takes place.

• Does the City wash the streets with water?

  The City of Vernon fleet includes a 3,000-gallon tanker/ street flusher used to wash all the fine dust material that remains on the road surface after the mechanical street sweepers have finished removing winter road sand. The street flusher utilizes high pressure water spray nozzles to sweep the road surface to produce a clean roadway. The debris flows into catch basins which are cleaned annually following the spring sweeping.

• What can I do to prepare for the spring sweeping?

  The City does not have the resources to sweep sidewalks adjacent to roadways. Property owners are encouraged to sweep small debris and sand from sidewalks bordering their property onto the road prior to roads being swept by the street sweeper.

• How can I help the City do a good job?

  One of the main obstacles for equipment operators is parked vehicles and recreational vehicles. Once the street sweeping program starts, removing your vehicles from your street, cul-de-sac, or alley until the roads are swept and washed will allow the operators to do a much better job and avoid having annoying missed spots in your neighbourhood. Street sweeping and flushing occurs day and night so please watch for the signs and keep the roadways clear.

• How often does the City sweep the streets during the rest of the year?

  After the spring sweeping has been completed, the street sweeper operates daily from 4 am to noon with street flushing as required. The arterial roads are normally swept six to nine times per year. All other local streets are normally swept three times per year. The downtown core is swept weekly, every Friday morning. During the months of October and November the City sweeps those areas that require leaves to be removed off the roadways.

• How often are the roads in the Okanagan Landing and Blue Jay Subdivision swept?

  All roads are swept annually to remove winter road sand and spot swept throughout the year to remove gravel and dirt from the road surface as needed. Road sweeping to remove winter road sand typically starts in late February weather permitting.