SAINT PAUL, MN (October 14, 2022) - Beginning Monday, October 17, 2022, Saint Paul Public Works will begin its annual fall residential street sweeping operations. City crews will sweep approximately 530 miles of residential streets throughout the City. Weather permitting, the street sweeping operation is expected to take approximately four to six weeks.
“Every year we get complaints from residents about their neighbors who are raking leaves into the street,” said Sean Kershaw, Director of Saint Paul Public Works. “Please spread the word that putting anything into the street is illegal and counterproductive to keeping unwanted material from going into and polluting our lakes and river.”
Saint Paul Public Works reminds businesses and residents what they should do to help the citywide sweeping efforts:
- Do not push any materials, including leaves, grass, or debris into the street. Please properly bag and dispose of any leaves, dirt, and grass clippings. Residents can take materials to Ramsey County compost sites, use their yard waste services, or if the resident is part of the Citywide Garbage Service, they can put out compostable yard waste bags with their garbage service to be collected at $3 per bag
- Move vehicles and follow all posted “No Parking” signs. The City will post temporary “No Parking” signs 24 hours in advance of sweeping operations. Vehicles parked in areas with “No Parking” signs could be ticketed and towed.
- Do not put garbage or recycling carts in the street. Please make sure carts are only placed on the boulevard, not the street.
- Adopt A Drain. Residents can help protect our waterways by adopting a storm drain (or two) in their neighborhood, and keeping it free of debris, snow, and ice in the coming months. Learn more at www.stpaul.gov/adoptadrain
There are many factors that impact why we start our operations when we do, but foremost is that we have a very short window between when leaves begin to fall and when the first snow or freeze may occur. There is no perfect science to determine the optimal start time for sweeping, but experience has shown that starting earlier helps ensure all streets in Saint Paul are swept.
Street sweeping is an important City service that removes garbage and organic debris, such as leaves, dirt, and grass clippings from entering our storm sewer system. This helps protect the City’s system, as well as prevents excess debris from getting into and polluting our streams, lakes, and river.
Saint Paul Public Works sweeps all 530 miles of residential streets twice a year, once in the spring and another in the fall. Approximately 340 miles of arterial (main) streets are typically swept six to eight times each year between April and October.
For more information, including a map and schedule about Saint Paul’s street sweeping operations, visit www.stpaul.gov/sweep.
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Lisa Hiebert, APR
City of Saint Paul, Public Works Department
Lisa.hiebert@ci.stpaul.mn.us