Street Sweeping Website Sends Alerts By Ward, Sweep Area

By Chris Bentley in News on Apr 11, 2012 5:40PM

Chuck Sudo/Chicagoist

Yesterday I found one of those all-too-familiar, tangerine envelopes from the Department of Revenue discarded on the sidewalk. Unopened and visibly trampled, the ticket was a good indication of how some Chicagoans welcome the return of street sweeping.

My block got its first sweep yesterday, and I narrowly avoided a ticket. Whoever chucked his $60 fine notice on the pavement probably could have benefitted from programmer Scott Robbin’s site, sweeparound.us, which updates subscribers by email, text message and / or calendar feed of street sweeping dates for their ward and sweep area.

Sweep Around Us subscribers get texts one week and one day before scheduled sweeps in their area. A disclaimer on the website says the site “does not guarantee” the accuracy or timeliness of the information, and links to the Department of Streets and Sanitation website for official information.

Street cleaning is enforced between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., even if the street has already been swept. While I once escaped a ticket at the last minute — I blasted off with the oncoming sweeper in my rearview — I wouldn’t recommend rolling the dice.