Summer maintenance continues in Vaughan

The City of Vaughan’s Public Works crews are working hard to provide quality services to keep the city’s public spaces safe, clean and beautiful for your enjoyment. Here is an update on our summer maintenance operations:

Forestry maintenance

Regular tree maintenance is currently operating at full capacity​. Tree planting is well underway, with more than 500 trees planted this year. Tree removals are also scheduled to take place over the summer. Any hazards that need to be removed, such as trees or branches, are responded to in a priority sequence.

Through a Council-endorsed Tree Maintenance Strategy (PDF), the City is transitioning to a cycle where trees are pruned every seven years. This strategy – which includes increased tree inspections – allows us to adopt a more cost-effective approach to tree maintenance. It also prioritizes quality services by managing and improving the urban forest and increasing canopy cover – which is important to the overall health of the Vaughan community and ecosystem. You can learn more about how we are planning for the future of Vaughan’s trees through the Urban Forest Management Plan. 

Following this direction, we’re taking a new approach to individual pruning requests. Non-emergency requests that follow our pruning schedule will be addressed accordingly, while all other requests will be managed in priority sequence following an inspection. Once a service request is created, a forestry inspector will visit the site within 30 business days to examine the tree's condition and determine next steps.

Potholes

We’re working to keep our road network in a state of good repair by performing routine patrols across the City’s 2,200 kilometres of roads year-round. This season alone, our crews have repaired more than 2,300 potholes. Watch this video to see how we do it!

Street sweeping and road maintenance

The City's street-sweeping program began in April and will continue throughout the summer and into the fall. Street sweeping prevents unwanted materials from flowing into stormwater drains, river pollution, sewer backups and road flooding. More than 4,400 kilometres of street sweeping has 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 from your property 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 one metre of a street curb.

Boulevards

We maintain City-owned boulevards along roadways not in front of, or adjacent to, private property. Maintenance of boulevards on private property is the landowner's responsibility, including side lots. Boulevard maintenance includes regular grass cutting (every two weeks) and removing debris and leaves. Approximately 73,750 kilograms (162,590 pounds) of litter and illegal dumping have already been removed this year from City boulevards and City-owned land.

Litter cleanup

Our cleaning blitz continues with crews collecting litter from Vaughan’s parks, open spaces, City boulevards and sidewalks, paths and trails. Using Madvac - an innovative litter collection vacuum that targets hard-to-reach areas - City crews collect litter and debris from the ground. Watch this video to see Madvac in action! This machine is another way we’ve enhanced and expanded service offerings to help keep our city clean.  

In addition, we are working with an independent consultant to conduct our first-ever litter audit. For more information, visit vaughan.ca/litter.

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 garbage and 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.

Parks and open spaces
We manage more than 800 hectares of parks and open spaces. Grass is cut regularly in these areas throughout the summer. For more information, visit the City’s Grass Cutting and Weeds webpage.

Water maintenance
Crews are continuing annual inspections of fire hydrants by flushing watermains and cycle valves to keep pipes clean, clear and operational. Staff have inspected more than 3,500 hydrants and more than 2,000 this year. In addition, staff address all water shut-off and turn-on requests. 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 services online

Did you know you can request repair and maintenance services online through Service Vaughan? Via 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
• tree pruning, planting and removal
• and much more!

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

To learn more about our summer operations, visit vaughan.ca/seasonal.

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