Monday, February 23, 2015

The Many Benefits of Simply Sweeping the Streets

Spokane Valley is cleaning up it's streets. And a lot earlier than usual. Street sweeping crews are already out picking up sand and debris left from winter. This isn't just done to make roads look better, if left in place dirt and other items can clog stormwater drainage systems. 

Coupled with rain or runoff from the warmer weather, pooled water at the clogged drain not only poses a driving hazard, it accelerates deterioration of the street surface. It's also more cost-effective to sweep debris out of the roadway and away from drains rather than vacuuming accumulations out of the drywells.  

In addition, sweeping helps maintain air quality by removing excess dust and dirt that can get blown into the air by breezes and passing vehicles.  That's especially important to keeping air clean and minimizing health risks from breathing airborne particulates. 

 Pedestrians, bicyclists and those using wheeled mobility devices also benefit from increased stability due to less dirt and gravel on sidewalks and in bike lanes.

With that said, keep all those benefits in mind if you encounter slow-moving street sweeping vehicles along arterials over the next few weeks during daylight hours from 7 a.m. to  5 p.m.  Depending on the weather, sweeping in residential areas could begin as early as mid-March.  Regular sweeping of arterials will continue into fall along with sweeping of other areas as needed. 

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About SRTC

SRTC is the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for Spokane County. Urbanized areas with populations exceeding 50,000 people are required to have an MPO. SRTC was formed to address the county's transportation planning needs. It provides coordination in planning between the public, cities, small towns, the county, the state, transit providers, and tribes.

SRTC offers services including transportation monitoring, transportation modeling, census information analysis, travel demand forecasting, historical traffic count analysis, geographic information systems, and trip generation rates.