Sweep up your scoria in front of your home or business. City street sweepers will be clearing it from the roadways.
The city reports that it is easier for a sweeper to pick up a long thin line of scoria rather than a large pile. City crews will be rotating through neighborhoods several times this spring to pick it up.
Here’s more from the City of Steamboat Springs; April 28, 2023.
Making A Clean Sweep of Seasonal Scoria
Clean-Up Part of City’s Particulate Matter-10 Air Quality Maintenance Plan
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, COLORADO-April 28, 2023-Making ‘Sweep Dreams’ for residents is what the city’s street sweepers do as they clean miles of roadways year-round; however, with the arrival of spring, the scrubbing shifts into overdrive to tackle scoria which creeps out as the snow melts.
“While many areas of the city still have significant snow from this past winter, we are hitting the spots that have melted out and will continue to adjust as the snow recedes,” said Streets Supervisor Tom Martindale. “By getting as much up as possible now, we’re able to keep it from making its way into our waterways and air later.”
During spring, the streets division sweeps accumulated scoria from the roadways. Residents are asked to help by raking/sweeping out any remaining scoria from their property, including the Right-Of-Way and culverts onto the asphalt shoulder of the road. Please keep in mind that long thin lines of scoria are easier and more efficient for the sweeper to pick up instead of large round piles.
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.
The city utilizes two very different sized machines in its sweeping arsenal. The smaller Sentinel Sweeper (above image) 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 can follow the contours of uneven road surfaces in dry or wet conditions.
“Our scoria program rotates through neighborhoods multiple times during spring; however, we’d appreciate a call to schedule an additional ‘sweep by’, especially if you have a large amount, so our crews can get to the material faster,” continued Martindale.
Commercial contractors or property management companies which provide this service MUST remove the materials themselves. Branches that have been trimmed or trees that have been cut down, as well as other refuse must be disposed of by the resident or a contractor and should not be placed with scoria. If there are branches within the scoria, the sweepers cannot pick them up.