Street Sweeping
Street sweeping provides cleaning of City streets to maintain a clean environment for residents and to remove debris, trash, and pollutants before they enter the storm drains that lead to local waterways.
New sweeping routes were implemented in October of 2017. The entire street sweeping program is currently under revision. New street sweeping routes have been developed to increase sweeping efficiency, potentially increase curb miles swept in conjunction with the new “No Parking on street sweeping days” signage program, and ensure efficient manpower usage. The new routes have been designed to maintain a bi-weekly sweeping schedule for residential sweeping routes and weekly sweeping routes for commercial and industrial areas.
The City is working to evaluate the new sweeping routes as they relate to the trash collection routes/times to determine what the final routes will be so that the “No Parking” signage can be implemented throughout the City.
Sweeping Schedules
To find out when your scheduled sweeping day is click on the link in the upper right hand corner of this webpage. Follow instructions and steps to bring up sweeping routes. Input your address in the search bar. You can also open the Routesmart attachment document at bottom of this dialog box. It will bring up a color coded map showing your sweeping route and day swept.
All routes are swept as required by schedule to the best of our abilities. Staff provides coverage for sweeper operator’s absences as trained manpower is available, this can result in reduced sweeping at times.
The City of Salinas provides street sweeping services on a scheduled basis. If your scheduled service day falls on a City observed holiday, service will be provided on your street's next regularly scheduled day. Other issues that can effect sweeping schedules are sweeper equipment breakdowns. In most cases there is one backup sweeper to cover most breakdowns but it is not always the case and can result in reduce sweeping or none at all until next scheduled sweeping date.
Normal issues for maintenance activities can also impact scheduling of sweeping. As manpower is available, hand sweeping is performed by pre-determined high density list for areas throughout the City. These areas are scheduled at end of roads where sweepers can’t maneuver into or hard to get to locations within the City. Sweeping of islands and bullnoses are schedule as manpower is available.
Requests for sweeping in areas with impacted streets due to parked cars can be scheduled by a call in basis. Once staff has inspected location the request will be scheduled as staff is available.
Leaf Season — September to February
The volume of leaves that fall from our trees each year requires a significant increase in time and effort for the street sweeper to pick up and remove them from the street. The additional effort sometimes doubles the number of trips to unload the full sweeper and makes it difficult to finish the daily sweeping routes Leaves in the street can clog storm drains during winter rains and cause local street flooding.
Did you know that Chapter 29, Sec. 29-12, of the City’s Municipal Code prohibits the discharge or placing of yard waste, landscape debris, vegetation clippings, or other landscape or construction-related wastes into the street? This rule applies throughout the year.
Please do not rake leaves or landscape debris into the street. When this occurs from multiple properties the street sweeper fills more quickly and must make additional trips to unload. The increased number of times needed to unload may affect our ability to finish the sweeping routes. The sweeper cannot pick up large piles of leaves left in the street. Please contain all the leaves, grass clippings and tree branches from your lawn and landscape and place all debris into the dedicated Republic Services of Salinas Yard-Waste Bin for proper disposal.
Your cooperation will enable the City’s Street Sweeping operations to more effectively remove the leaves that fall onto the City streets. It will help minimize the possibility of street flooding during heavy rain events. Diverting yard waste will assist Republic Services of Salinas to achieve EPA Mandated Diversion Rates and help maintain or reduce long-term costs.
Your participation will not only assist the City’s Street Sweeping Program but is important to the City’s Clean Water Program as well. The Clean Water Program provides for cleaning of storm drains and water channels prior to the wet weather season and removes and reduces pollutants (leaves, trash, silt and debris) before they enter local waterways and eventually the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary. Your cooperation and participation in preventing yard waste, leaves and debris from entering the streets and storm drains is greatly appreciated.
Parking Lot Sweeping
Parking Lots and Parking garages are visually inspected daily. The daily inspection performed involves checking for trash and debris, both solid and liquid. Anything found is cleaned up at that time. Any storm drains within the lot and the surrounding area downstream are inspected for any trash and debris, both solid and liquid. Any necessary cleaning is performed by Public Works Waste Water staff that day. Any illicit discharges are report and addressed.
Surface lots are swept weekly by a private contractor with a vacuum sweeper. Parking Garages are not swept with a vacuum sweeper due to low clearance ceilings. Parking garages are inspected daily as described above by surface lot daily inspections. Any needed cleaning is performed at the 20 East Market Street Garage by on site staff. The 320 Salinas Street.
Garage is cleaned by a private contractor once a week or as needed by the daily inspections. The Transit Center lot (ITC or Intermodal Transit Center) is cleaned once a week by the same contractor who services 320 Salinas Street Garage.
Street Sweeping Equipment
The City has three Elgin Eagle Mechanical Broom sweepers and one Elgin Whirlwind Vacuum sweeper. The City has one Vac All that is primarily used to eliminate large amounts of leaves from neighborhoods. The City has 3 sweeper operators that alternate doing the high density hand sweeping in the dead ends (areas infeasible for street sweeping).
Street Sweeper Map
To find out when the street sweeper will be in your neighboorhood:
- Increase your view on the map by clicking once on the plus.
- To move the focus of the map, click and drag it around.
- Click on the street you want to know about.
- Click on the calendar icon in the upper right corner to see the scheduled sweeping day.
- Or go to the full map at ArcGIS
Street Sweeping News
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It's Leaf Season!
Leaf season is upon us, and the City of Salinas Environmental and Maintenance Services Department needs your help. Each year the heavy leaf fall that occurs from October through February presents a number of problems for the Street Sweeping Program.
Please help out your community by not raking leaves or landscape debris into the street and containing all the leaves, grass clippings, and tree branches from your lawn and landscape into the proper Yard-Waste...
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