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News & information from the City of San Diego

Environment | Streets and Sidewalks

San Diego to Resume Regular Street Sweeping Operations in Flood-Impacted Areas

street sweeping truck in front of a house.

The City of San Diego will resume street sweeping services in early May along routes in southeastern San Diego after temporarily halting service following the historic Jan. 22 storm and its aftermath.

The City paused parking enforcement for street sweeping to allow for large-scale cleanup efforts in the southeastern San Diego neighborhoods most impacted by this winter’s storms. Now that those cleanup efforts have been completed, street sweeping service will resume normal operations starting May 9.

To alert impacted neighborhoods about this change, the City’s Stormwater Department will implement a 30-day grace period before issuing tickets with monetary penalties. During this grace period, the department will distribute this information via door hangers at residences on the impacted streets and flyers placed on vehicles within the surrounding neighborhood.

“Street sweeping is an essential service that helps keep our neighborhoods clean and prevents trash and debris from clogging our stormwater system, helping reduce flood risk for nearby homes and businesses,” said Todd Snyder, Director of the Stormwater Department. “We want to make sure everyone is aware of our return to normal operations, so people know when to move their cars to avoid a ticket. Parking enforcement helps improve the effectiveness of street sweeping by allowing City sweepers to get to the curb to maximize debris removal.”

Rainfall that enters storm drains is not treated, and that runoff collects pollutants from properties and streets and carries them into local waterways. Street sweeping helps remove large and microscopic pollutants, such as brake dust from vehicles, before they reach a storm drain and eventually flow to a local waterway or the ocean. Those particles can be extremely harmful to fish and other wildlife.

Residents and visitors can help improve street sweeping efforts by moving their vehicles to another location while parking restrictions are in effect, taking in trash cans as soon as possible on trash collection days, and reporting illegal dumping and other problems promptly to the City’s Get It Done application.

Visit the City’s interactive street-sweeping map for more information about routes and schedules.