2024 Street Sweeping Schedules, Maps, Holidays, Tickets, Jobs and more

Street sweepers typically don’t sweep during heavy rains. They may still sweep if it’s only light or sporadic rain with no flowing water in the gutters.

But the reason why might surprise you.

Street sweepers clean the street with one of two mechanisms… either a broom or a vacuum.

Similar to how you can clean your house with a broom or a vacuum, a street sweeper works the same way… just at a MUCH larger scale.

The challenge when it it comes to rain for street sweepers is that vacuum machines will vacuum up a lot of the rain water while they’re sweeping.

This is totally fine for the sweeper, however, the street sweeper has limited capacity in its storage hopper.

If the sweeper vacuums up too much water, the driver will need to take the sweeper to dump at a designated area. The water takes up space that should be there for the street sweepings.

Because their dump areas may be a long way away from where the sweep is taking place, the sweeper would waste a lot of time driving back and forth.

Broom street sweepers have a different problem when it comes to the rain. Broom sweepers don’t pick up nearly as much water as a vacuum sweeper, however, the rain makes debris stick to the ground.

Broom sweepers are very effective at sweeping up trash and debris but it becomes much harder in the rain.
Similar to trying to sweep your patio when its raining.

You can likely sweep up the big materials but the small stuff is likely to stick to the ground.

So there’s why street sweepers typically don’t sweep in the rain. They’re able to do it but it’s just not as effective.

The most correct term is “street sweeping”.

Street sweepers either work by using a large broom to sweep up debris OR us a large suction head to vacuum debris off the street.

All the water that is used by the sweeper is for dust control only. Water is sprayed on the street, around the brooms or vacuum head, and internally in the sweeper to try and suppress dust.

The water the sweeper is spraying is NOT used for cleaning.

Often times when the sweeping schedule changes, so does the trash collection schedule. Check out our sister site at https://trashschedules.com for updates.

You’ll likely get a parking citation.

Vacuum sweepers work by sucking up debris from the ground. Broom sweepers have a rotating broom that flicks debris onto a conveyor belt and into the hopper.

Tickets range from $21 – $365 depending on where you’re parked. Most ticks are in the $50-60 range.

The best way is to move your car so you don’t get one in the first place. If you do get a parking ticket you can usually appeal the ticket within the first 2 or 3 weeks by writing in to the address listed on the ticket.

Look for the posted sign on your street. Some cities have a 5 minute grace window to move your car before getting a ticket but it’s best to move your car before the posted time.

Technically you’re not supposed to be parked on the street at any time during the street sweeping time window.

However if the street sweeper has passed AS WELL AS THE PARKING ENFORCEMENT OFFICER, the chance is low that the enforcement officer will come down the street a second time to give you a ticket.

Some cities DO allow you to park after the sweeper has passed but it’s rare so make sure you know the rules for your city so you don’t get a ticket.

That’s not legal advice so park at your own risk.