Mayor’s Monday Mailbag – April 10, 2023 – What is the City of Burlington Doing for Spring Cleanup?

Mayor's Mailbag
Written By

Welcome to the Mayor’s Monday Mailbag, an initiative Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward and the Mayor’s Office launched to share weekly answers to questions from the public we’ve received through our main email inbox at mayor@burlington.ca or the Mayor’s social media platforms.At the end of the month, we publish a roundup of those most pressing questions we’ve received in the weeks prior.Mayor’s Monday Mailbag – April 10, 2023QUESTION:"What is the City of Burlington doing in terms of spring cleanup around the city?”ANSWER:It’s that time of year again where the City of Burlington shifts focus from winter response to regular seasonal activities. Accordingly, the City's formal spring cleanup program begins this week when staff end the winter shift schedules, and operational resources return to their regular service areas.As weather permitted, staff have already started on many cleanup activities and will continue with all resources dedicated over the next six to eight weeks to the following:

  • Boulevard litter cleanup along major roads and collectors, and known problem areas. Once this work is complete, staff move to litter cleanup in parks;
  • Flushing of bridge decks, street medians and sweeping of major road sidewalks;
  • Street sweeping starting with major and collector roads, then moving into residential roads;
  • Sod repair from snow-clearing operations, starting with major and collector roads, then moving into residential roads;
  • Cleanup and opening of outdoor sport courts and artificial fields (Artificial fields are already open for permits. Ball diamond permits begin in early May and soccer permits begin around the Victoria Day long weekend);
  • Reactivation of seasonal washrooms and drinking fountains (The portable washrooms at Spencer Smith Park and Burloak Waterfront Park have been installed, and should now be operational. The port-o-lets at Beachway, LaSalle and Kerncliff parks will be installed soon);
  • Pothole filling and roadside shoulder repairs are ongoing; and
  • Inspection and clearing of drainage inlets are ongoing.

Concerning the amount of sod damage from winter operations, this year’s winter season was fairly mild with storm events occurring around the freezing temperatures, resulting in a mix of rain and snow numerous times throughout the season. As a result, ground conditions were very susceptible to damage and that led to a larger number of damage incidents, and more than what would be expected during a normal winter season.In addition, adjacent ground elevations, sod overgrowth or customized boulevard treatments also contributed to the occurrence of damage, especially when grades were not even with the adjacent sidewalk.The City continually strives to mitigate damage through training of operators, public education as well as holding our contractors accountable for repairs. We appreciate everyone’s understanding and thank those residents that have taken the time and effort to proactively repair some of the sod damage along their front yards.In order to ensure staff does not miss repairing any damaged locations, we ask that residents submit a service request through Service Burlington at city@burlington.ca, so it can be logged and tracked. Please note, it is the City's standard to repair minor damage with soil top dressing and seed. Sod will only be used where a large area has been disturbed as availability is limited to the late April or early May timeframe.

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Mayor Meed Ward’s Weekly Update: April 10-16, 2023