Because of a long and cold winter that stretched on longer than expected, the City of Madison’s street cleanup schedule in preparation for the warmer months has also been pushed behind schedule.

The excessive amounts of snow and cold temperatures hindered the city’s ability to clear the streets and sidewalks for spring, Streets Division General Supervisor Tony Barlow said. 

During the winter, the city uses sand and salt to help melt snow for pedestrians, he said. With more snow comes more debris and more cleanup work, Barlow said.

Currently, the city is sending out sweepers to clear debris out of the streets, Barlow said. The city can only send them out in warmer temperatures, though, as the machines will not work in below-freezing temperatures due to the use of water, he added. Since Madison saw such lingering cold temperatures during the past few months, they were unable to send sweepers out.

“[The weather] has put a real damper on getting it all done perfectly,” Barlow said.

During the spring months, the city has a daytime and nighttime workforce and runs sweepers 16 hours daily, Barlow said. They are sweeping the main streets first and then the residential areas, aiming to cover each three or four times, he said.

Usually by the second week of April, crews have come close to completing two rounds of sweeping and the city cuts back down to just daytime shifts, George Dreckmann, City of Madison recycling coordinator, said. With their delayed start, however, they will probably continue having nighttime shifts until the end of April, he said.

The biggest issue right now is the remnants of debris left in curb lines, which has slowed down the street sweeping program significantly, Dreckmann said. Workers have been unable to get up to the curbs where most sand and salt accumulate, he said.

The city is required to pick up as much sand and salt as they put down by the end of April, according to Public Works General Foreperson Glenn Dwyer. He said the department is considering extending the cleanup efforts to 20 hours daily and workers’ shifts from eight to 10 if necessary. 

However, Dreckmann said he is confident this effort would not be needed.

Dwyer said one of the more lasting damages from winter are the potholes. When wet snow melts into the ground and then refreezes and expands, it can cause blowouts on the streets. After especially snowy and cold winters, the city must repair many potholes in the spring, he said.

“I’m glad that the snow is finally melting out,” Dwyer said. “That’s what delays us in the spring. The winter has lasted longer than we’ve anticipated.”

Barlow added he hopes to get everything cleaned up as quickly as possible, noting concern about debris running into lakes and asserting sweeping is a first and foremost priority.

Barlow and Dwyer both asked city residents to do their best to avoid parking in the streets at night to allow the sweepers to clean as close to the curbs as possible with no obstructions.