Proper and regular maintenance is a must, and it only gets even more important when it is about something that can affect public safety. Yes, we are talking about road maintenance and how to notice the signs of bad road maintenance in your neighborhood, along with the type of road cleaning machines available.
Cleaning vehicles
Proper maintenance starts with regular cleaning, regardless of whether we are talking about cleaning your house, vehicle, or street in your neighborhood. Clean streets are much more than just about the looks because even though no one wants to see and visit cities with dirty streets, it’s also about road safety.
Debris and dirt can cause a great threat to the general public, especially during autumn when there are leaves on the road, as they make the surface more slippery. Here, we are not talking just about vehicles, as pedestrians are in danger as well, which is why public safety depends highly on the state of the road and whether it’s clean or not.
With that said, in order to be able to clean everything properly, one needs to have proper machines and vehicles. Luckily, there are many types of vehicles and sweepers made precisely for this purpose, meaning there is no reason not to use them, knowing that it is a matter of public safety.
Road and street sweepers are great as they are designed to work in any weather condition, even extremely hot and cold weather. The only thing to worry about is picking the right type, as there are several factors to include here.
Types of street sweepers
Before making any decision regarding the type, one should consider several key factors like the amount and size of the debris, type of dirt on the road, type of surface, environmental concerns, etc. There are three main types of sweepers, and you should go with the one that suits your purposes the most.
Regenerative air sweepers
In the domain of preserving nature and taking care of the environment, you should know that this type of street sweeper is the most eco-friendly. Namely, the system this sweeper uses for cleaning the roads is just recirculated air.
That makes them one of the best environment-friendly solutions. As for how they work, the air is blasted on the surface at such high pressure that it cleans the surface flawlessly.
This is also what makes them one of the most popular choices, but like with every type of street sweeper, there are also certain things that can affect how greatly the surface is cleaned. It’s all about cleaning as much of the surface as possible and cleaning it without leaving debris and dirt behind.
On the other hand, uneven surfaces pose the biggest problem, as the air might not reach the entire road, which can affect the quality of the cleaning process. But, considering how this type of sweeper is the most environmentally friendly due to much less exhaust pollutants, it’s still the best possible vehicle for road maintenance in your neighborhood.
Mechanical sweepers
Okay, this is the type of sweeper that you have already heard and seen before, as they have been with us the longest. Of course, that doesn’t mean they are the best, but they are surely the most common cleaning vehicles. As for how they operate, it’s all about the brooms that push the debris and dirt to the middle of the sweeper.
Once enough of the dirt is gathered, a type of conveyor system picks up that dirt and gathers it. It surely is a well-functioning system that has shown great results, but there are certain downsides to it.
The biggest of it all is the mud-like substance that can be created when the surface these sweepers clean is wet. Namely, gathered water often gets mixed with the dirt and creates this substance that is extremely difficult to clean and get rid of afterward.
This means that the maintenance of the cleaning vehicle is also of vast importance, but also that cleaning the mechanical sweepers can sometimes be challenging and time-consuming.
Vacuum sweepers
Vacuum sweepers work on the same principle as the vacuum cleaners we all have in our homes. Of course, on a much bigger scale, but the system behind it is similar. There is usually a single suction outlet, and the air is continuously exhausted out the back of the machine, which creates the vacuum and picks up all the dirt and debris on the surface of the road.
As for the downsides of these sweepers, the biggest one is about the environment because even though they use water-based suppression systems, they still exhaust a high level of harmful particles. Understandably, there are filters that can be used as add-ons to reduce the amount of particles that go into the air, but a certain amount of it will still get into the air.
Sings of poor street maintenance
There are several signs that can give you insight into whether the road is in good shape or not. Besides the looks of it and whether it’s clean or not, other things like a high amount of potholes can be a sign that the road is not in great shape, to say the least.
Another big indicator is drainage, and you can easily notice this because when the rain falls if there is any part of the road where the water stays, it is a sign that the stormwater drainage is not adequate.
This gathered water on any area of the road can cause severe damage to the surface, making it unsafe for drivers. Potholes are just one of the issues we can all easily notice while driving, but eroded ditches are also a sign of a bad drainage system.
Erosion is also something that can happen due to rain, and the size of the erosion can severely affect the safety of the road.
Fading signs and markings are yet another sign that the road is not properly maintained. Everyone knows how important the signs are, as they play a crucial role in overall public safety.
When the signs are fading, and you cannot see the markings along the road, it is an indicator that the road in your neighborhood is not maintained as well as it should be. Luckily, this is also something that can easily be solved, as replacing the signs is the easiest thing to do.
