City News

City introducing new mini street sweeper dedicated to bike lane maintenance ~ Specialized equipment will help keep bike lanes free of debris ~

RICHMOND, Va. –   The City of Richmond adds a Mini Street and Sidewalk Sweeper to its fleet! As Richmond continues to expand its bike network, this new state-of-the-art compact sweeper will aide in clearing bike lanes of debris, improve drainage on city streets along with keeping drop inlets free of trash and other debris. 

The City of Richmond maintains 61 miles of bike lanes. Of them, 23 lane miles are physically-separated using flex-posts or floating parking. Those separated bike lanes provide bicyclists with a greater degree of separation from motor vehicles, however, they don't allow a full-sized sweeper to fit in a narrower bike lane. The new mini, compact sweeper will allow DPW maintenance crews access to the protected bike lanes and help keep them clear and safe for cyclists.

Once the street sweeper has begun work and routes established, the schedule for the sweeper will be posted on the City’s website in early September. With additional protected bike lanes with floating parking and/or flex posts planned for implementation, there are plans to purchase another mini sweeper in the future to improve the frequency of the routes and to keep up with the growing bike lanes.

Richmond residents can assist by keeping debris, leaves and other vegetation out of the bike lanes.

Use RVA311.com or call 3-1-1 to report debris in bike lanes.

For more information on the Department of Public Works, please visit us online at www.rva.gov/publicworks or email us at AskPublicWorks@rva.gov

We’re Social! For updates on DPWrelated projects, activities and events visit us on Twitter @DPW_RichmondVA

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The City of Richmond Department of Public Works (DPW) is one of only 195 currently accredited public works agencies in the United States. DPW’s portfolio comprises a wide array of services to include leaf collection; street, sidewalk and alley maintenance; trash collection; recycling; grass cutting;  graffiti removal; parking enforcement; urban forestry; street signs; traffic signals and pavement markings and civil engineering. In addition, DPW maintains upkeep on most city buildings; issues permits for working in the city’s right-of-way; manages the RVA Bike Share program and maintains the fleet of city vehicles. DPW’s operating budget comes from the general fund of the City of Richmond.  For more information about DPW services, click here or call 3-1-1.