HomeMy WebLinkAboutSection IV Street Sweeping Policy
IV. S TREET SWEEPING POLICY
Adopted May 2007
Revised December 7, 2009
Adopted November 13, 2012
INTRODUCTION
The City of Prior Lake assumes basic responsibility for sweeping City streets. Sweeping is necessary to
promote clean and clear driving and walki ng surfaces and to remove particulate pollution before they
enter natural waters. The City will provide street sweeping with the following goal: Sweeping should be
done in safe, cost effective and environmentally sensitive manner. The City will use City employees,
equipment and/or private contractors to provide this service. Operation dates are dependent on
weather conditions, personnel and equipment availability. The Maintenance Supervisor or his/her
designee will be responsible for scheduling of personn el and equipment.
STATEMENT OF NEED
In an effort to create a consistent and measurable sweeping effort, this policy sets forth goals and
recording requirements that will allow the City of Prior Lake to monitor and improve its street sweeping
effort as new science, information, practices and techniques are developed in the City and the sweeping
Industry.
TI ME OF OPERATION
Street sweeping will occur seasonally when roads are clear of snow and ice, generally from March to
November. Hours of operation normal ly will be between 7:00am and 3:30pm, Monday to Friday.
Extended work days may be utilized for spring sweeping or emergency operations . Special provisions
will be needed to accompany the sweeping of the downtown business area; maintenance staff will start
at 4:00am.
AREAS OF OPERATION
Street sweeping will occur citywide as well as in a series of zones that require extra sweeping effort due
to land use or specific water quality concerns. The following zones are established under this policy and
are depict ed on the attached map 1. These zones are listed ranked by environmental susceptibility from
l east to most:
1. Citywide residential.
2. Commercial / Industrial zone.
3. Downtown zone.
4. Wellhead zone.
5. Direct to Lake Zone.
Sweeping may occur outside Prior Lake City boundaries on contract or under agreement with other
municipalities. Sweeping efforts within the watershed draining to Spring and Prior Lakes has a benefit
for the City of Prior Lake, due to the connectivity of water resources.
METHOD OF OPERATION
Equipm ent
The City owns two street sweepers, a mechanical broom sweeper and regenerative air sweeper. These
two pieces of equipment vary in utility and efficiency. The following is a summary of capabilities of each
piece of equipment:
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1. Mechanical Brush
The mec hanical brush sweeper is good for picking up gross pollutants such as gravel and coarse
sand. The mechanical brush is well suited for streets with heavy loads of construction material.
The mechanical brush is best for dry sweeping of roads, using its brus hes to loosen up any caked
on mud and then lifting it into its hopper. The mechanical brush is less effective for picking up
fine grained sand and silt material, and does not clean out cracks well.
2. Regenerative Air
The regenerative air sweeper is good fo r picking up a wider array of sediment and is especially
effective at picking up finer grained pollutants such as coarse sand to silt and can clean into
cracks. The regenerative air is also well suited for Wet biomass such as grass clipping and leaves
and can be used on wet surfaces.
Speed and safety
Both machines are operated between 2 and 5 mph. This speed allows for safe and efficient pickup.
Sweeping operators must be vigilant to keep watch for pedestrians and children at play, due to the
residenti al nature of many City roads.
FREQUENCY OF OPERATI ON
ZONE Minimum Frequency
1 Citywide residential 4 times per YEAR
2 Commercial / Industrial 6 times per YEAR
3 Downtown 1 time per MONTH
4 Wellhead 1 time per MONTH
5 Direct - to - Lake 2 times per MO NTH
Citywide residential areas and areas not in another zone will be the target for clean ing a t a minimum 4
times per year. The first sweeping will take place in late winter or early spring when roads are mostly
dry and clear from snow. A follow up cle aning will occur the following month after the risk of late snow
has passed. Fall sweepings will occur one or two weeks after leaves start to drop, and continue just prior
to snowfall.
Commercial / Industrial zones will be cleaned on the same schedule as residential areas with two
additional sweepings taking place in the summer.
Downtown and wellhead zone will be swept monthly. Monthly sweepings can occur any time during the
month; however, efforts should be made to time the sweepings prior to periods o f expected rainfall.
Areas that drain directly to lakes will be swept 2 times per month. Hotspots with notable dirt or
sediment in the direct - to - lake zone will be covered with multiple passes of the regenerative air sweeper.
The frequencies set forth ab ove are City standards. In ext enuating circumstances, the sta ndards may
not be achieved.
RECORD KEEPING AND U SE OF DATA
T he City will collect and track data related to the sweeping effort. Information will be collected for du a l
purposes; to track the sh ort term variations in time, distance and volume of material collected in and to
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collect data for analyzing the long term efficiency of sweeping operations. Through data collection and
continual reassessment of the effectiveness of operations the City wil l strive to continually improve
operations.
Data will be summarized on the daily use of each sweeper. A sample of the data for used is presented
below:
Example
LINE DESCRIPTION DATA / CALCULATION LINE DESCRIPTION DATA / CALCULATION
A1 OPERATOR Ente r Name Here A2 SWEEP ZONE Enter Zone Name Here
Enter Sweeper Number
B1 EQUIPMENT Here B2 DAILY VOLUME Enter Total Daily Volume
Leaves/Gravel/Soil/Sand/Mix
C1 C2 MATERIAL COLLECTED ?
D1 START TIME Enter Start Hour Here D2 START ODOMETER Enter Start Od ometer Here
E1 END TIME Enter End Hour Here E2 END ODOMETER Enter End Odometer Here
F1 TOTAL TIME Line E1 - Line D1 F2 TOTAL DISTANCE Line E2 - Line D2
Enter Break and Transit Distance in Transit to/from
G1 IDLE TIME Hours G2 APX IDLE DISTANCE Work Are a
H1 SWEEP TIME Line F1 - Line G1 H2 SWEEP DISTANCE Line F2 - Line G2
LINE DESCRIPTION MEASURE DATA / CALCULATION
(Daily Volume/
J1 PRODUCTION Total Hours) Line B2 / Line F1
(Daily Volume/
K1 EFFICIENCY Sweep Distance) Line B2 / Line H2
(Sweep Distance/
L1 SAFE SPEED Sweep Time) Line H2 / Line H1
These data can then be used by the operator to make an immediate assessment of the current day’s
operations. Production and efficiency can be compared and safe average operating speeds can be
confirmed.
These data can also be used in the long term monitoring of sweeping data. Analysis of the data as well
as observations of the operators will give the public works department a firm basis to modify and
improve the sweeping policy in the futu re. This continual improvement of the process will promote an
efficient use of pub l ic funds and an assessment of the benefit.
STORAGE AND DISPOSAL OF WAST E MATERIAL
Material gathered through sweeping operations will be stockpiled at a City stockpile site . This and all
stockpiles are inspected as part of the City MS4 Permit at least annually for erosion. Ultimate disposal
or reuse of the material is dependant on potential contaminants determine by testing the soil. Stockpile
may be required to be dispos ed of in a sanitary landfill. If soil tests show material to be under
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recommended thresholds for tested pollutants other appropriate uses may be available; such as, non -
sanitary landfilling, use as miscellaneous fill material, or topsoil.
CONTRACT SWEEPI NG AND EROSION CONTROL ENFORCEMENT
The City includes provisions in development agreements that state if a developer fails to sweep within
the prescribed period according to NPDES construction site permit the City has the right to sweep the
area and bill th e developer. The contract rate for sweeping will be set at $150 per hour. This rate is
meant to safely cover staff time and capital and maintenance costs of equipment so that the
enforcement of this provision does result in a loss for the city.
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