You asked: When will streets, storm drains be swept, cleaned in Newmarket?

Reduced summer workforce means only low-lying areas prone to debris, flooding to be swept, town official says

Newmarkettoday.ca
June 5, 2020
Kim Champion

You asked:

Newmarket resident Suzan Challis wondered when local roads and storm draims will be swept and cleaned now that we are slowly returning to a sense of normalcy. As the weather is drawing more people out, the avid walker believes the unkempt streets are dangerous for cyclists since they cannot ride close to the curb.

Here's the answer:

Complaints about litter, recycling, and debris strewn around Newmarket are piling up faster than, well, the garbage itself.

The town contracts its cleaning crew and currently has one road sweeper and a smaller team to clean trails, laneways and areas around the downtown core such as Riverwalk Commons.

Since COVID-19 hit the community in March and Ontario, York Region and the Town of Newmarket declared states of emergency to battle the spread of the new coronavirus, the pause button has been hit on many activities not deemed essential such as the spring cleanup.

Strict public health measures that remain in place, including keeping at least a six-foot distance from others outside your household and limiting social gatherings to five people maximum, combined with a reduced summer workforce at the town has put a damper on once-energetic community beautification efforts.

In addition, Ontario's Environment Ministry doesn't recommend spring cleaning activities to limit the spread of the respiratory disease.

And while the province is slowly unwinding strict restrictions put into place to stop the spread, the town struggles with a budget shortfall so far of about $8.5 million directly attributed to the upending of the economy caused by COVID-19.

For example, the town will not hire summer students this year to save money.

“At this time, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the town is only conducting street sweeping using limited in-house resources in critical areas,” development and infrastructure services commissioner Peter Noehammer said.

Only low-lying areas prone to debris accumulation and flooding will be cleaned up, Noehammer said, adding that town staff have been redeployed to conduct other essential work.

That other work includes sweeping all bike lanes in accordance with Ontario’s minimum maintenance standards regulation, a town spokesperson said in a late-April social media response to resident Alexey Davydov, who asked: “How about last year’s leaves which are still on the roadside? It’s not making our town beautiful.”

But the town continues to monitor critical areas that require attention, said Noehammer.

Town staff continue to empty garbage cans at parks and are also picking up litter in parks and open spaces.

Residents are reminded that they can do their part to prevent litter in their neighbourhoods by securely tying gargabe bags, not overfilling blue boxes, stoop and scoop when out with pets, and take all items from the mailbox home to sort, including advertising flyers.

Residents who are aware of areas that need to be addressed or are concerned about potential flooding situations can email the town at info@newmarket.ca.