The city’s Public Works team manages Lomita’s contract to provide street sweeping services throughout the city and recently solicited proposals for a new contract. The agreement was awarded to Athens Services, the same provider that delivers solid waste hauling services in Lomita. Athens began providing street sweeping services in April 2023.
Prior to and in preparation to solicit bids for the new contract for street sweeping services, the City Council undertook a comprehensive review of the street sweeping services provided to the community. As part of that review, the city has included common concerns and questions raised by residents including the following:
- Conflicts with school zones and pick-up/drop-off times
- Difficulty and scarcity of available parking during sweeping times
- Conflicts between sweeping times and trash pick up days and times – i.e. trash bins on the street do not allow for proper sweeping and take up needed parking
- Inconsistency of sweeping in certain areas of high priority.
- Among other concerns…
To address these concerns, and to better provide services and ensure our sweeping efforts are effective and efficient, and to reduce the impacts on our residents related to parking as much as possible, the city proposed amendments to the street sweeping routes, frequency, parking restrictions, and overarching services provided. During the July 5, 2022 City Council meeting the amendments detailed below were approved. Currently with the provision of having sweeping and solid waste services by the same provider presents opportunities to align the routes and schedules for these two important services to minimize conflicts and better meet the needs of our residents. The city’s team will be working with Athens over the coming months to review all the input received from our residents regarding route adjustments and will be making recommendations to the City Council for possible amendments to the July 5, 2022 approved maps.
The sweeping and trash collection dates, times, and routes will remain unchanged in the interim. Please continue to observe the posted weekly two-hour parking restriction for street sweeping.
Background on Current Sweeping Program
Currently, to meet State and federal sweeping requirements, street sweeping (and the associated parking restrictions to allow for proper sweeping) is performed on a weekly basis in all areas that are regularly swept, but not all streets are included in the existing sweeping routes. Additionally, some streets may be posted with “No Parking” restrictions during the planned sweeping hours, while others have no restrictions.
To address this disparity, and maintain compliance with the City’s requirements, the City is proposing an alternative approach under which the frequency of sweeping is determined based on the actual debris generated on a particular street (see Priority levels, A, B or C below). This revised structure will allow many of the City’s street sections (and the associated parking restrictions) to be reduced from four or five times per month (weekly) requirements to twice per month, and allow for alternating schedules (i.e. one side of a street one week, and the other side the next) to further improve parking availability.
| Level | Condition | Sweeping |
|---|---|---|
| A | Highest volume of trash debris generated | At least 2x per month |
| B | Moderate volumes of debris | At least 1x per month |
| C | Low volumes of debris | At least 2x per year |
The revised routes will also allow for reduced conflicts with trash service and with school zones which will free up even more parking for residents to use and will allow for better and more timely enforcement by the city’s parking enforcement teams when necessary to avoid delays between the sweeper and the enforcement vehicle.
Implementation and Adjustment
Once ready to proceed, new street signs will begin to be replaced and residents will receive notification of any changes that may occur on their streets. The city will also allow time for residents to adjust to the new routes and schedules by providing a grace period for street sweeping related citations after new signs are in place and providing warnings and notifications in lieu of citations during that period.
For questions or comments or to discuss the proposed improvements to the city’s sweeping services, please contact the Public Works Department at (310) 325-7110 ext. 155, or by email at Publicworks@lomitacity.com
Public Comment
If you would like to provide feedback to the city about this topic, you may do so below.
