EDMONTON -- The City of Edmonton kicked off its annual spring street sweeping program Tuesday, ahead of schedule.

Andrew Grant, the general supervisor of infrastructure with the City of Edmonton, said crews will sweep through all their inventory over the next six weeks starting with the boulevards and arterial roadways, weather dependent.

“We are heading into the spring sweep program early hopefully the weather will hold,” Grant said.

“We usually blitz through the entire city to make up for the mess we make in the winter.”

The city is reminding Edmontonians to remove their vehicles from the roadways and residential streets to make room for crews.

If alternative parking is not an option, Grant said they offer a courtesy tow. Drivers will not be ticketed if their vehicle is left on the street.

“We have the option of towing vehicles around the corner to allow our street sweepers to move fluidly through residential areas. It’s just overall more efficient, and helps us stay on schedule,” he said.

Residential roads will be cleared during the day with signage visibly posted for residents. High volume roads will be dealt with at night.

According to Grant, peace officers will be deployed and motorists can expect to see flashing lights and blocked lanes on high-speed roads.

Clean-up will run Monday to Friday, 24 hours a day.

For more information including the sweeping schedule, visit the city website.