EAST PALO ALTO
CITY COUNCIL
STAFF REPORT
DATE: July 19, 2022
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
VIA: Patrick Heisinger, Interim City Manager
BY: Batool Zaro, Assistant Civil Engineer
Humza Javed, City Engineer
Jeff Liu, Interim Chief of Police
SUBJECT: Street Sweeping Project Update
Recommendation
Receive and file.
Background
The City of East Palo Alto’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP) includes a project for street sweeping signage city wide. In 2016 approximately 300 street seeping signs were installed around the Gardens neighborhood.
A new project to install street sweeping signs began in 2021. The 2021 Street Sweeping Project includes the installation of approximately 350 signs throughout the City, filling a large gap of the locations that lack signage. As part of the current project, approximately 300 signs were installed in 2021 and the remaining additional signs will be installed in 2022. Once all the work is completed, approximately 80% of the City will have street sweeping signage. Some neighborhoods in the City are without street sweeping signage due to the lack of curb where signs can be safely and appropriately placed. Additionally, other areas in the City, like the Palo Alto Park area, only have street sweeping signs on one side of the street because of the existence of curbs on only one side of the street. Upon installation of curbs at the remaining locations, street sweeping signs will subsequently be installed.
Analysis
Street sweeping signage and its enforcement is vital for the environment and compliance with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. Trash and debris that is not swept on an occasional schedule ends up in the storm drain, and eventually the ocean.
Street sweeping helps remove these materials and keeps them out of the stormwater drainage system. Regular street sweeping also reduces the accumulation of dust and controls its distribution into the atmosphere.
The East Palo Alto community has regularly complained about the lack of enforcement of the street sweeping signs. The City Council recently appropriated funds for Community Service Officers (CSO), and one of the many tasks of the CSO’s is street sweeping enforcement. It is anticipated additional CSO’s will be hired and trained by late summer 2022 and street sweeping signed will be enforced by the Police Department (PD) on a more consistent basis.
Early in 2022, mailers regarding street sweeping enforcement were sent out by the Public Works Department to residents in the areas where the new signs were installed. These mailers were sent as a courtesy to the residents informing them about the new signs and upcoming enforcement.
Any questions regarding the Street Sweeping Project can be sent to [email protected]
In the Fall, staff will bring a compressive update on the City’s Mobility Study to the City Council to discuss the progress on short-term items as well as next steps.
Public Notice
The public was provided notice of this agenda item by posting the City Council agenda on the City’s official bulletin board outside City Hall and making the agenda and report available at the City’s website and at the San Mateo Co. Library located at 2415 University Avenue, East Palo Alto.