Street sweeping is back! Here's how to make sure you don't get towed

Street sweeping is set to resume Tuesday — and could look a little differently this year.

Louisville Department of Public Works will launch a "pilot program" in Old Louisville to see which methods of alerting residents are most effective at getting them to move their vehicles ahead of the cleaning.

"In the grand scheme of things, we want people to have clean streets," said Pete Flood, assistant director for Metro Public Works in the Solid Waste Management Services Division. "It's important. And we also want people to be able to have notice so they are aware and have the opportunity to move their car and help us do our job."

What is street sweeping and why is it important?

From March to November, roads in Louisville's Urban Services District will undergo routine cleaning called "street sweeping."

“Street sweeping is essential to keeping our city streets clean and helps remove debris that would otherwise go into storm drains and cause water pollution or potential health problems,” said Public Works director Jennifer Kern in a statement.

Staff will post signage before the cleaning to encourage people to move their cars.

"Aside from the fact that we can't sweep where they're parked, it's also a situation where you have to swing out into other lanes," said Flood. "An operator that is focused on staying next to the curb to get a good clean, if they have to constantly be monitoring other traffic (and) other obstacles, it becomes a potential safety issue for them as well."

If vehicles are not moved, they could be ticketed or even towed.

Public Works can also notify residents before street sweeping occurs in their area if they sign up for text messages or email alerts at LouisvilleKy.gov under the "Address Lookup" icon.

What is new this year?

Public Works will continue to post signage as well as send out text messages and email alerts in 2024, but they are experimenting with new methods of alerting the public.

The experiment begins Tuesday in Old Louisville. Some streets will have new, brightly colored signage encouraging people to move their cars. Others will have the bright signage plus a flier with information along with a QR code to sign up for street sweeping alerts. The department may use road-blocking barricades in some areas, according to a release from the Mayor's Office.

Then, about 15 minutes before street sweeping begins, a vehicle will drive down streets to alert neighbors over a PA system that it is their last chance to move their cars before facing consequences. The announcement will be made for "probably everybody" in the pilot program, Flood said.

Different streets will have varied combinations of alerts so Public Works can determine which methods work best.

"Our goal is always to look to see how we can do things better and this is just one more attempt to do that," Flood said. "You don't know until you try something, and that's what we're trying to do."

Flood was not able to confirm which streets would have which alerts — just that all of them will have signage and all residents can sign up for text messages or email alerts online.

How do I know if I'll be ticketed or towed?

It depends on what resources Public Works have available at any given time, said Flood.

"There isn't really a relationship to that other than what resources allow us to do," he said.

There is always a chance a car could be towed for parking on a road during scheduled street sweeping. To avoid repercussions, move vehicles off the street from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. the day your street is cleaned.

"The street sweeping is for everybody's benefit and if one person's not taking care of it and moving, it does impact the rest of the neighborhoods," Flood said. "We want to make sure it is a good system. We get people notice. We get people the opportunity to move so we can make the community clean for everyone."

Reach reporter Eleanor McCrary at EMcCrary@courier-journal.com or at @ellie_mccrary on X, formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Metro Public Works to experiment with new street sweeping alerts