Street Sweeping
Route Revisions and
Initial Signage
Program Update
June 3, 2025
Heidi Niggemeyer
Stormwater Program
Manager
Agenda
• Importance of street sweeping
• Revisions to current sweeping routes
• Rationale for street sweeping
• Process for revising routes
• Outcomes
• Initial area for parking restrictions
• Sampling and Analyses
• Selection criteria
• Outreach and Awareness
15 miles
of streams in the City of
Salinas
100%
are polluted per EPA
standards
TMDLs
Each stream is listed and
has multiple Total Maximum
Daily Loads
NPDES MS4 Stormwater Permit
NPDES MS4 Stormwater Permit Requirements
*2021-2022 was Year 3, 2023 -2024 was Year 5
NPDES MS4 Stormwater Permit Requirements
Why street sweeping?
• Beautifies neighborhoods
• Very effective stormwater
BMP
• Adaptive
• Helps the City to
potentially meet water
quality discharge
requirements (TMDLs)
The challenge:
only stormwater down the drain
Street sweeping timeline
2012: Prior sweeping program initiated; both sides of road swept same day 2018: Existing water quality monitoring sites established and trash assessments begun 2020: Clean Water Salinas website revisions made
2017/2021: Studies to determine curb access (areas for improvement) 2022: Sweeper truck debris data collection effort began 2023: Outreach efforts began, including event at Closter Park, regular blogs, social media posts
2023-2024: Refined analysis of the sweeping data, road debris condition, and road sediment quantity and constituents
2024: Sweeping route revisions begun and signage cost estimates determined Oct 2024: Council approval of new routes and implementation of parking restrictions April 2025: No Parking signs installed in initial signage area May 2025: Enforcement of new No Parking signs begins (Warnings for 90 days; Citations) Street sweeping is highly effective at removing
pollutants BEFORE they enter the stormwater system
Street sweeping isn’t equally effective everywhere
Curb access is a problem in several areas
Goals of Sweeping Revisions
• Revise sweeping routes to sweep opposing sides of the street on different days
• Collect data on sweeper effectiveness through drivers’ data entry and curb access and debris accumulation analyses
• Implement parking restrictions in a high priority area of the City to improve curb access for sweepers
• Leverage long-term water quality monitoring station and road debris condition observations to see if impacts of sweeping can be measured • Build awareness of actions residents can take, like moving their cars, to keep Salinas waterways clean
Revise sweeping routes
The City used RouteSmart software to develop routes, provide drivers with directions, and track sweepers.
Routing capabilities include:
• Generating geographically balanced and compact routes • Creating routes to service opposite curbs on different days • Modeling travel time between dump facilities and routes • Calculating route metrics to determine efficiency
Collect curb accessibility - Sweeper entry
Collect road debris accumulation data
Collect trash condition data
Collect sediment samples – pollutant analyses
Acosta drainage area sediment
contained some of the highest
pesticide concentrations.
Implement parking restrictions
Goals:
• Improved curb access
• Measurable improvements in road debris
conditions and runoff water quality
• Minimal disruption to residents
Criteria:
• Low curb access
• High concentration of pollutants and trash on
roads
• Located in monitoring station drainage so
water quality impacts can be measured
• Narrow time interval needed for parking
restrictions (4-hr intervals)
Time of parking restrictions is
limited
For each part of the two chosen routes:
• Swept twice per month
• Window of parking restrictions will
be 4 hours
• Only ticketing BEFORE or DURING
sweeping, not after; warnings will
initially be utilized
Signage Routes: 121M and 121T
Monitored
Drainage
Road debris condition and curb access are poor
% of runoff samples that
exceeded WQ objectives in WY
17-23
Pollutant % exceeded
Fecal coliform 87%
Susp. sediment 36%
Turbidity 29%
Copper 2%
Orthophosphate 13%
Bifenthrin 88%
Cyfluthrin 58%
Water quality can be monitored
Leverage monitoring data
Build awareness
• Clean Water Salinas website
• In-person tabling and door knocking
• Social media outreach
• Blogging
Current Timing
• October 2024 – Revised routes and initial signage routes approved by Council
• December 2024 - Coordinated with Traffic to execute signage installation contract, and coordinate with Parking Enforcement and PD to establish enforcement protocols
• May 2025 - Signs installed in initial area and sweeping on new City routes begins; enforcement is “Warning only”
• August 2025 – Enforcement with citations begins ($45) Questions?