On most of the city's streets the remnants of the harsh winter are extensive.(Glenn Hicks/paNOW Staff) 

By Glenn Hicks

spring cleaning

Street sweeping gets underway

Apr 12, 2019 | 2:49 PM

An estimated eight-week street sweeping process is getting underway in Prince Albert and after the brutal winter there is a lot more sand and debris to remove.

“It’ll slow us down somewhat but we should still be through our main routes within about three weeks,” roadways manager Brent Kennedy told paNOW. “It is dustier than normal after all the sand we had to put down over the winter.”

Kennedy said crews were currently cleaning centre lines and turning lanes on the main arterial roads but the move to the curbside where there is a big build-up of debris needed a little more time.

“If we’re not getting consistent temperatures of above minus 2 [Celsius] or so through the night, the sand gets frozen into the gutters so we can’t sweep it [yet],” he said.

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Once things get underway in earnest up to 11 people will be involved handling a variety of equipment, according to Kennedy. That includes three or four sweeping vehicles, boulevard sweepers, boulevard brooms, a Bobcat, small loader and a couple of trucks. Most of the sand that’s taken away is used as cover at the landfill.

Kennedy said the street sweeping schedule is the same as for snow removal, with main arterials followed by other key routes before moving onto the residential streets. He figured it would take until the first week of June before everything is cleaned.

“Watch for the street sweeping signs when we get going and move your vehicles off the streets as it makes things a lot easier for us. Those signs will be put up 12 hours before we move in,” Kennedy said.

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glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow