Summer maintenance is in full swing

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:

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 2,250 potholes. Watch this video to see how it’s done!

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 3,900 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 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 that are 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 68,000 kilograms (149,900 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), 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.

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 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.

Shrubs, flowers and more

Not only are we keeping Vaughan clean, we’re also making our community more beautiful! Shrub bed planting and maintenance (including pruning, mulching, weeding, litter cleanup and watering) takes place regularly throughout the season. Our landscapers were busy installing 550 hanging baskets and 600 planters across the city this month.

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, and flushing watermains and cycle valves to keep pipes clean, clear and operational. Staff have inspected more than 3,000 hydrants and more than 1,900 water valves so far this year. In addition, staff address water shut-off and turn-on requests, which increase during the spring and summer. 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
• and much more!

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

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

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