By Stephanie Fasano

New Haven’s Public Works Department is sweeping in the spring with an updated street sweeping schedule based on their residents’ feedback from last year.  The new schedule began on Tuesday and will run through late October. Public Works will mark routes and residents should park accordingly.

Chief of Operations, Jeff Pescosolido, said the new schedule is needed, especially after a harsh winter. “So this year there was an abundant amount of sand down on the streets. So springtime is a full concentration, city wide sweeping up of the winter sands,” Pescosolido said, “During the summer we find that there are certain areas that have a lot of liter, so the street sweeping helps control the pollutants getting into the catch-base, which eventually ends up in the Long Island Sound,” Pescosolido said.

The city of New Haven will also be launching the Neighborhood Beautification Project on Saturday, April 5 with a community cleanup. Neighbors throughout the city are encouraged to consider creating cleanup projects reflecting the needs of their neighborhood.

“I think with the new mayor coming on board this year, with Tony Harp on board, we really want to recognize people that are getting involved. So we are really putting some publicity behind it, encouraging people to take part of this, again citywide,” Pescosolido said.

Some areas of New Haven have to deal with massive amounts of litter while other areas need common parks and spaces spruced up. “If we can work together and get on one page and I think with the right kind of marketing, I really believe that it can be a successful program,” said Angela Russell, New Haven resident, who supports the new project.

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