Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Street Cleaning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
West Covina begins citywide street‑sweeping sign installation; council members press for enforcement and route quality checks
Summary
City engineers described a multi-week program to install more than 5,000 new street‑sweeping signs and mountings ahead of a weekly street‑sweeping schedule; council members urged public-safety staff to follow sweepers to ensure routes are completed and to report back on problem neighborhoods.
City engineering staff told the West Covina City Council on April 1 that the city has ordered and begun installing more than 5,100 street‑sweeping signs as part of a transition to a weekly street‑sweeping program, and several council members pressed staff for enforcement and quality controls.
Robert Ortega, the city’s CIP project manager, said staff ordered two sign sizes — larger community-entrance signs and smaller mid-block signs — totaling 1,548 large signs and 3,647 small signs for a total of 5,191. Ortega said installation began Feb. 19 and that weather and coordination with existing signs have affected the timeline.
Ortega said engineering inspected pole placements to guarantee at least seven feet of pedestrian clearance and reviewed Americans with Disabilities Act considerations. He described a Google Earth map used to set locations, and said staff will move signs where feasible when residents raise legitimate placement concerns.
Council members had three lines of concern: whether high-density streets had alternate-day sweeping (to ease parking burdens), the timing and reliability of sweeper routes, and whether public‑safety staff could supervise sweeper performance. Public‑safety Director Mylan said staff planned to begin issuing warning notices only after the old signs are removed and the new signage is accepted by engineering, and that citations would follow roughly 30 days after warning notices.
Councilman Brian Gutierrez asked for public‑safety personnel to follow sweepers and document whether routes were completed and debris collected. Mylan agreed the department could provide oversight and said additional staff are being onboarded in April and May to support enforcement. Ortega said the city configured the program to include alternating schedules only in higher-density neighborhoods because a citywide alternate-day plan would increase the contract cost; he agreed to return with a cost estimate if the council wanted a citywide alternate schedule.
Multiple council members and residents raised parking‑burden scenarios — narrow streets or cul‑de‑sacs with limited legal parking — and asked staff to adjust placements and time windows where feasible. Ortega and Public Safety said they would fine-tune routes and coordinate with the contractor and TransTech on relocations and schedule changes.
No formal vote was taken; staff said they will return with a performance update and with cost estimates for any broader alternation program the council requests.
