June 23, 2020
Starting this July, the City of Edmonton will be mowing and trimming grass and weeds more often.
This improved maintenance level will see all grassy areas, including district parks, regular sports fields, boulevards and pocket parks receive mowing on a 14-day cycle. Premier parks and sports fields will continue to a minimum of weekly mowing. All turf will receive one cycle of grass and weed trimming around trees and objects per year, and a continuation in weed control.
“It will take some time for crews to catch up on the deferred maintenance, however Edmontonians should notice an increase in mowing activity beginning in July,” said Gord Cebryk, Deputy City Manager, City Operations. “We are hopeful that these adjusted service levels will help alleviate some concerns as we continue to deliver our services with a significantly reduced workforce.”
Due to the financial and employee impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, City crews have focused on mowing high-profile and highly used areas, resulting in a 21-day mowing cycle for the majority of green spaces in the City, including district parks and regular sports fields. These reduced turf maintenance levels led to a 140 per cent increase in 311 notifications from citizens related to natural areas, horticulture, turf, weeds and sports fields.
“We have heard the frustration from the public about turf maintenance and the appearance of our green spaces,” said Cebryk. “After ensuring we were able to make these improvements within our existing budgets, we are ready to make these adjustments responsibly and quickly.”
This improved turf maintenance approach allows for a consistent service that ensures a reasonable level of maintenance across all parks and grassy areas. However, these service levels remain below the maintenance operations conducted in a normal summer season as the City continues to navigate service delivery during times of fiscal restraint.
