Street Sweeping Program
Why does the City of Valdosta have street sweeping?
The City's street sweeping program removes dirt and debris from City streets to provide a healthy, safe, and attractive environment for Valdosta residents and visitors. Regular removal of leaves and debris by members of the public as well as City crews is necessary to prevent stormwater drains from clogging, which can result in street flooding. Street sweeping also protects water quality and minimizes the burden on the storm system from surface debris.
The street sweeping program sweeps over 2,000 miles of curbed streets within the City of Valdosta, including residential streets and major arterial streets.
How can you help?
Keeping the roadway in front of your house free of large objects and obstructions is the best way to assist street sweeping crews' clean-up efforts. Items such as cars, bicycles, toys, basketball hoops, and refuse containers block the roadway and make it difficult for the sweeper to maneuver and clean the street properly.
Here are other ways you can help our street sweepers:
- Remove large sticks and branches from the roadway in front of your house. They will clog and jam the sweeper's operating system.
- Remove grass or weeds that grow in the gutter. This will reduce debris in front of your house and will improve water runoff during rainstorms.
- Report abandoned autos to the City's Community Protection Department at 229.256.3554.
- Properly trim your street trees so the sweeper can clean next to the curb. If you need to prune trees in the right-of-way, contact the City Arborist at 229.259.3530.
- Organize or participate in neighborhood clean ups.
- Tell your children the benefits of a clean neighborhood and encourage them to dispose of litter properly.
How will I know when my street will be swept?
Unfortunately, the City does not currently have the tools to provide citywide time-certain information about our street sweeping schedule. Any attempt to provide a schedule would almost certainly result in a frustrated public because too many factors beyond our control always result in delays to our street sweeping schedule. However, on average all residential streets are swept every 6-7 weeks.
The following factors frequently disrupt our street sweeping schedule:
- Weather;
- Equipment maintenance;
- Utility work by other agencies;
- Private construction activities in the public right-of-way;
- Other street maintenance and road repair activities;
- Parked cars on both sides of the street;
- How dirty the street is - extra debris in the street delays a crew;
- Heavy leaf fall; and
- Employee emergencies - unexpected absences due to illness, family emergencies, etc.
Will my street be swept if there is no curb or gutter?
The City cleans only streets with curbs. A street sweeping study found that 97% of street debris lies within 40 inches of the curb. The accumulation of debris at the curb is caused by the design of the street and vehicular movement. Streets are designed with a crown in the middle sloping toward the sides. Water and debris move toward the curb and gutter areas. Vehicle movement scatters debris to the edges of traffic lanes.
Streets with no curbs are affected by the same factors as curbed streets, but with no curb the debris is dispersed onto areas adjacent to the paved surfaces. Uncurbed streets are, in effect, self-cleaning. No residential or arterial blockface is swept with a street sweeper unless a minimum of 75 percent of its length is curbed.