Councillors: Street Sweeping Notification Unacceptable

Medford City Councillors said Tuesday that the city did not do enough to notify residents of this fall’s street sweeping.

“I think it’s unacceptable … to hit up a resident with a $50 ticket because of the city’s lack of notification,” Councillor Michael Marks said.

Mark’s said a comprehensive street sweeping schedule needs to be put in place with more regular sweepings, perhaps monthly, and permanent signage to notify residents.

He said the city’s notification has been inconsistent. This fall, the city put out a reverse 911 call, which he said only reaches about two-thirds of residents, and had electronic billboards in Medford Square directing residents to the city website. However, in the past, postings were put on neighborhood trees before sweepings and a police officer with a bullhorn gave residents a 10-minute warning.

“We don’t live in Mayberry,” he said. “This is a large community … with people working different shifts and busy lives, we can’t expect them to look at the city website.”

Marks, and other councillors, told ticketed residents to appeal their tickets at City Hall.

“I think it’s very unfair,” Councillor Breanna Lungo-Koehn said of the ticketing. “All I can say to residents is appeal your tickets.”

Information on how to appeal your street-sweeping ticket >>

In addition to the notification issue, Marks said the city’s streets need to be swept more than twice a year as they are now.

“We’re tree city U.S.A., but we only sweep twice a year,” he said. “We’re sweeping now, and the leaves haven’t fallen.”

Marks said some streets weren’t even swept this fall because of the lack of notification and vehicles on the roads. Parents also told him that they arrived back home with their kids after school and didn’t think they’d receive a ticket so late in the day. Also, a home health aide was ticketed, he said, because she didn’t know the city’s unmarked rules.

Councillor Richard Caraviello added that when the sweeping began, the online schedule on the city’s website was off by six days.

Do you think Medford needs more regular street sweeping with permanent signage?