City street sweepers will be cleaning up the scoria on the side of the road. That’s the little bits of rock and gravel put on icy roads in the winter. Please rake it up and leave it along the shoulder of the road. Long thin lines are easier for street crews to pick up rather than large piles. That scoria will be picked up this month and next. Please don’t leave any dead tree branches out there with the scoria.

Scoria clean-up is part of the city’s Particulate Matter-10 (PM-10) Air Quality Maintenance Plan, and residents are asked to cooperate by not using this clean-up for other debris. During the past two years (2019 & 2020), the city applied 4,733 tons of scoria while spending 1,987 hours sweeping up 2,651 tons of material. 

The city utilizes two very different sized machines in its sweeping arsenal. The smaller Sentinel Sweeper is an all-season street sweeper while the larger TYMCO DST-6 Regenerative Air Sweeper is a heavy-duty powerhouse with twice the capacity. Both vehicles collect heavy dirt, sand, gravel, and scoria and are able to follow the contours of uneven road surfaces in dry or wet conditions.

“Our scoria program rotates through neighborhoods multiple times during April and May; however, we’d appreciate a call to the shop to schedule an additional pick up, especially if you have a large amount, so our crews can get to the material faster,” continued Van Winkle. That number is 970-879-1807.