Spring cleaning continues!

Crews are keeping Vaughan safe, clean and beautiful

The City of Vaughan is continuing its spring-cleaning efforts to keep the city’s public spaces safe, clean and beautiful for your enjoyment. Here is an update on our operations:

Street sweeping and road maintenance

The City's street-sweeping program began in April and will continue throughout the summer and into the fall. A full rotation across the city takes approximately eight to 10 weeks to complete, depending on weather conditions. Street sweeping prevents unwanted materials from flowing into stormwater drains, river pollution, sewer backups and road flooding. Approximately 1,300 kilometres of street sweeping have already been completed this year.  

You can support our street-sweeping operators by following these guidelines:

• Do not park vehicles on the road.
• Do not blow or rake leaves or grass clippings onto the roadway.
• Keep waste materials off the road.

You are also encouraged to remove anything that may interfere with or be hazardous to street sweeping operators. This includes landscaping features, such as fencing, basketball nets, decorative stones, pots, bird baths, furniture and more, as stated in the City’s Encroachment By-law 034-2017 (PDF). These items should not be within 30 centimetres of a sidewalk or within one metre of a street curb.

Trees
Crews have begun stump grinding for approximately 1,000 tree stumps. Stump grinding is the process of removing the stump of a tree using a specialized woodchipper. The machine grinds the stump into mulch and pushes it a few inches below the soil. The rest of the stump is left to decay naturally. This process makes way for future tree planting opportunities (once the stump has completely decomposed and the ground has been restored to its natural state).

Regular tree maintenance continues operating at full capacity​. A total of 400 trees have been pruned so far this year. Any hazards that need to be removed, such as fallen branches, are responded to in a priority sequence. In a few weeks, crews will begin planting approximately 500 street trees.

Parks and open spaces
Grass cutting in parks and open spaces is underway and will run a total of 13 rotations in each area. Now that dandelion season is here, some public spaces may appear unkempt as weeds grow faster than grass. For more information, visit the City’s Grass Cutting and Weeds webpage.

Litter cleanup

The City’s spring-cleaning blitz began in March with crews collecting litter from Vaughan’s parks and open spaces such as paths and trails. Madvac – the litter collection vacuum – has since returned to City sidewalks to collect litter and debris. An additional three machines were added to the roster this season, so look out for Madvac coming to an area near you! This innovation is another way Public Works staff are enhancing and expanding resources to stay on top of litter. 

You can help keep the community clean by following these tips:

• Put waste in its place: while outside, place your waste in the nearest garbage, blue box or green bin. Be sure to use the right one!
• Bag it and bin it: when walking outside with your pets, clean up after them and use the waste bins provided. If the bins are full, take your pet waste home. It belongs in the green bin at home or waste bins out in the community. As a reminder, you must pick up after your pet. The fine for failing to do so is $200. To report pet waste on public property, contact Service Vaughan at 905-832-2281 or service@vaughan.ca.

Potholes

To date, City crews have filled in approximately 1,500 potholes. Throughout the year, staff perform routine patrols across the City’s 2,200 lane-kilometres to help keep Vaughan’s roads in good condition. The City also inspects more than 1,200 lane-kilometres of sidewalks annually for any defects and will schedule repairs, as needed – this work is ongoing throughout the spring and summer months.

Boulevards

The City maintains municipally-owned boulevards along roadways that are not in front of or adjacent to private property. Maintenance of boulevards on private property is the landowner's responsibility. Boulevard maintenance includes regular grass cutting and removal of debris and leaves. Approximately 8,000 kilograms (17,636 pounds) of litter and illegal dumping materials have already been removed so far this year from City boulevards and rights-of-way.

Shrubs, flowers and more

Shrub bed planting and maintenance (pruning, mulching, weeding, litter cleanup and watering) take place regularly throughout the season. ​In addition, beginning Monday, May 29, a total of 750 hanging baskets and 900 planters will be installed across the city by mid-June. ​

Water maintenance
In April, the City began its annual inspection of fire hydrants and continues to flush watermains and cycle valves to keep pipes clean, clear and operational. Staff have inspected more than 900 fire hydrants so far. The City has also attended to water shut-off and turn-on requests, which increase during the spring and summer months. Non-emergency water shut-off and turn-on requests can be made online and must be submitted four to six weeks before the service is required.

Request maintenance service online

Did you know, you can request repair and maintenance services online through Service Vaughan? Through the online portal, you can request maintenance for:

• curbs, sidewalks or interlocks
• new pavement markings
• parks, playgrounds or splashpads
• roads and boulevards
• sports fields, courts or skate parks
• and much more!

Once a ticket has been created, staff will respond to each request in priority sequence.

To learn more about the City’s spring operations, visit vaughan.ca/seasonal.

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