As leaves begin to turn yellow and fall from trees, the City of Saskatoon is kicking off their fall street sweeping program.
The city will be cleaning streets of leaves and debris starting on Oct. 16.
READ MORE: Saskatoon starts looking into Airbnb regulations
Street sweeping will continue through Oct. 27, but may be subject to scheduling changes due to weather like heavy rain or snow and temperatures dropping below zero degrees.
The city says the program may end entirely of there is a heavy snowfall with no sign of melting.
The purpose of the street sweeping program is to prevent spring flooding by picking up debris blocking street drains.
“We’re focusing specifically on streets that have a high tree canopy density, not just neighborhoods with a high tree canopy density,” Brandon Harris, the city’s roadways and operations director, said.
“By doing that, we’re able to expand the positive impacts of that risk reduction and prevention of spring flooding.”
READ MORE: Saskatoon city council approves garbage service changes to save money
The city said residents will be given between 36 and 48 hours notice their streets will be swept, so they can move their vehicles; any vehicles remaining on the street at 7 a.m. may be ticketed and towed.
Residents who have had their vehicles towed are being asked to use the Find My Vehicle app, or call the 24-hour service centre at 306-975-2476.
The city is also reminding people that leaves cannot be swept or raked onto the street from their lawn, but should instead be placed in green carts, bagged and placed into black carts or taken to the compost depot.