Fort Worth rolls out long-awaited fleet of 12 street sweepers to clear litter | Fort Worth Report

Oct 17, 2024

After more than a year of waiting for their arrival, Fort Worth has a new fleet of street sweepers ready to hit the road.

The fleet replaces the city’s two existing street sweepers while adding an additional 10 vehicles to the arsenal to accommodate Fort Worth’s rapid growth. Officials are working to launch the vehicles onto the city’s roads on a regular cleaning schedule.

Standing near a street sweeper outside City Hall on Sept. 10, environmental services director Cody Whittenburg said the new additions help emphasize the city’s commitment to a clean environment.

“Our goal is to create and maintain a clean and attractive city, and street sweepers are critical to achieving that goal,” Whittenburg said. “Not only is it picking up litter, it’s also picking up that finer debris and keeping it out of our storm drains and out of our creeks, lakes and the river.”

The city purchased the new vehicles in spring 2023 for $3.5 million as part of an effort to expand resources to clean up litter. That year, Fort Worth also raised its monthly environmental fee — from 50 cents to $1.50 per month for residents — for the first time in 26 years.

Resident concern about litter has steadily risen since 2019, according to results of the city’s community survey. Fort Worth officials have responded with the creation of the city’s environmental services department, the rollout of cleanup crews and a new program focused on removing trash from highways. With the help of the Tarrant Regional Water District, the city has also budgeted funds to build a water wheel capable of removing thousands of pounds of trash from the Trinity River each day.

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Whittenburg said the new street sweepers began to clean streets last week, and operators will begin tackling more routes in the coming weeks and months.

The vehicles will run regular routes through the city’s most littered neighborhoods, with a goal of cleaning about 6,380 street miles per month. The city’s two previous street sweepers cleaned about 580 miles per month, code compliance director Brandon Bennett previously told the Report.

Whittenburg said the street sweeper fleet currently has 13 operators, who will work four 10-hour shifts per week. Operators received on-site training in Fort Worth at the beginning of the month from the vehicles’ Waco-based manufacturer TYMCO.

As the new vehicles get rolling on Fort Worth’s streets, they’ll have one noticeable change over the city’s two previous sweepers: names. City officials are hosting a contest to name the street sweepers, with one of a dozen winning names displayed on the side of each vehicle.

“As we brought in this brand new fleet of 12, we saw this great opportunity not only to build awareness about the street sweepers but also just to engage the public with a fun contest,” Whittenburg said.

Residents can submit up to three name suggestions each online here. The deadline to enter is Sept. 30, and Whittenburg said the city will post information on the winners once staff have selected finalists.

Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at [email protected] or @bycecilialenzen.

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by Cecilia Lenzen, Fort Worth Report September 10, 2024

Cecilia Lenzen is a local government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Prior to the Report, she covered local government in Dallas for a hyperlocal newspaper chain and freelanced for several... More by Cecilia Lenzen