* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*
CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: Councilmember Branch
A RESOLUTION ENTITLED
A COUNCIL RESOLUTION concerning
title
Informational Hearing - New Citywide Street Sweeping Plan
FOR the purpose of calling on representatives from the Department of Public Works' Solid Waste Bureau and the Department of Transportation to appear before the Council to discuss the new citywide street sweeping plan, the lessons that can be drawn from its early operations, and what steps can be taken to more fully educate communities about the new plan.
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Recitals
Last month marked the debut of Baltimore's new citywide street sweeping efforts that will bring mechanical street sweeping to many neighborhoods where it has never before been seen. The new program, designed to be revenue neutral, has added roughly 76,000 street miles to the previous street sweeping zones and has so far met with mixed success.
On the plus side, last month more than 400 tons of trash were removed from Baltimore's streets on the new routes, an increase of nearly 50% over the average month on just the old routes last year. City street sweepers were used more efficiently, sweeping streets throughout Baltimore on carefully plotted routes designed to maximize usage rather than skipping from zone to zone without cleaning any intervening territory as had been done in the past.
However, some neighborhoods that were told to expect street sweeping reportedly never saw the machines, and others had them appear with no warning that would have let residents move their cars to allow cleaning of their blocks. Sweeping was impaired by both mechanical problems resulting from years of caked on grime and stretches where parked cars made entire areas unsweepable. Some drivers deviated from their routes in order to double or triple sweep problem areas and never reached others.
While some of these problems can simply be chalked up to the inevitable growing pains of any new endeavor, they do raise questions about just how to define success for this initiative and what more could be done to ensure that the City gets the maximum possible benefit from these new efforts. It is therefore important to have a full public discussion about the purpose and goals of this new plan, how the process will be regulated, and what additional steps can be taken to fully educate all communities on how they can participate in the new street cleaning efforts.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE, That the Council calls on representatives from the Department of Public Works' Solid Waste Bureau and the Department of Transportation to appear before it to discuss the new citywide street sweeping plan, the lessons that can be drawn from its early operations, and what steps can be taken to more fully educate communities about the new plan.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be sent to the Mayor, the Director of Public Works, the Director of Transportation, the Chief of the Department of Public Works' Bureau of Solid Waste, and the Mayor's Legislative Liaison to the City Council.
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