April 2016 Newsletter

​​Hey Ward 14!

Spring is now in full swing. I will start with a quick reminder about Counciltalk and then dive in to an important spring topic.

April Counciltalk

Three great Counciltalk discussions are already done. The April Counciltalk will be held at the Sundance Resident’s Association (63 Suncrest Way S.E.) on April 23 from noon to 2 p.m. You can find a listing of Counciltalks at calgary.ca/counciltalk, and you can also sign up to get email reminders for Counciltalk and other things at calgary.ca/ward14connect.

Street Sweeping

You’re reading this in late March or early April, but I’m writing it in February. As I write, the City is way ahead of schedule for its street sweeping program because of the very warm and dry February. In fact, “pre-sweeping” started in February.

“Pre-sweeping” is what it sounds like. We pick up some of the larger debris in strategic areas to make things easier for the final sweep. It is the beginning of our annual program removing debris that has accumulated during winter on roads, major sidewalks, and boulevards. Keeping the roads clear helps everybody get around easier and safely. It is also good for the environment and our wallets. Every pebble that we pick up before the June rain doesn’t end up in our storm water system. It also saves us money on maintenance of that system.  Removing as much as possible is great, and doing it quickly is best.

So we’re trying to take advantage of the good conditions, and there are a few changes to the usual schedule that you should take note of:

1. We are aiming to complete the program by June 1 instead of June 30, and will begin on April  3 instead of April 13 (weather permitting).
2. Daytime sweeping (in residential areas) will be 7 days/week instead of 4 days/week
3. Evening sweeping (of main roads) will now be Mon-Thurs instead of Sun-Wed

If you see a temporary parking sign on your street, that means there is a parking ban in place. Crews will move vehicles to a space nearby at the City’s expense if possible, but will tow to an impound lot at the owners expense if not. In both case, the car will be ticketed. Unlike before, vehicles in sweeping areas where there is no parking ban may receive tickets, and the penalty has gone to $120 from $75.

Please help the City keep our streets, sidewalks, and parks clean of debris by obeying the posted parking restrictions. It will save the City money, and your neighbours will thank you. Parking ban signs will be posted at least 12 hours in advance, so keep an eye out. I also suggest visiting calgary.ca/sweep where you can find a real-time map showing our progress (a result of one of my innovation fund requests) and look up planned street sweeping dates by address. Check back frequently though—the weather can change plans.

If you have any questions about street sweeping or anything else feel free to contact me.

-Councillor Peter Demong ​