More than 3,000 tickets handed out in first 3 days of Calgary spring street sweeping

A thousand tickets a day — that’s the average amount the City of Calgary has handed out in the first three days of street sweeping.

The city launched its annual street sweeping operations on Monday and by Wednesday, more than 3,000 tickets were placed on car windshields.

The penalty for leaving your vehicle on the street when it’s scheduled to be swept is $120 but that drops to $80 if you pay it in the first 10 days. Your car could also get towed – either to a place not being swept near your street (in that case you only have to pay the $120 ticket) or to the impound lot where it will cost you $200 or more to retrieve.

Signs will be posted in your neighbourhood prior to city sweeping crews coming by, but if you’re curious about when exactly your street will be cleaned, there is a website you can check.

The city has posted street sweeping schedules online at Calgary.ca. Homeowners can enter their address in the spring cleaning search to find out when their gravel-covered road will be cleared. You can also sign up for email alerts.

This year, the Calgary Parking Authority will be using more photo enforcement vehicles to issue fines to those who don’t move parked vehicles off the street while sweeping is underway.

“Our goal is to have Calgarians move their vehicles so that our streets can be cleaned as effectively as possible,” CPA spokesperson Joan Hay said in a news release. “Vehicles left in an area with a parking ban in place can expect a ticket and may also be towed.”

“We rely on the co-operation of vehicle owners to observe street cleaning signs and remove their vehicles and garbage or recycling bins when sweeping is scheduled in their neighbourhood,” manager of roads maintenance Bill Biensch added.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We rely on the co-operation of vehicle owners to observe street cleaning signs and remove their vehicles and garbage or recycling bins when sweeping is scheduled in their neighbourhood," manager of roads maintenance Bill Biensch added.

Street sweeping is expected to continue into June, as crews sweep over 16,000 lane kilometres of paved roads throughout the city.