Brookhaven introduces first City-owned street sweeper

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Brookhaven, GA, Oct. 27, 2022 – The purchase of Brookhaven’s first City-owned street sweeper means the Public Works Department’s “Rain Brigade” will soon be paying a visit to all Brookhaven neighborhoods.

The City Council approved the purchase of the Public Work Department’s first major piece of heavy equipment in April.

“Each year our street sweeping program has diverted 40 tons of debris that would have otherwise ended up in our creeks and waterways,” said Public Works Deputy Director Tom Roberts. “That’s just once a year with our street sweeping contractors. Now that we own this equipment and have trained staff to operate it, we will have the flexibility to clean streets three or four times a year and when specific needs arise.”

The purchase of the new equipment and the increased flexibility is also part of the City’s Sustainable Brookhaven initiative. “We have this goal of water being cleaner when it leaves Brookhaven than when it gets here,” said Mayor John Ernst, who introduced the street sweeper to the public during October’s Touch a Truck event in Blackburn Park, attended by about 500 ­people.

Outfitted with the City’s Rain Brigade logo, the new equipment is an Elgin RegenX Street Sweeper that is easy to use, clean and maintain. The Elgin RegenX uses regenerative air to clean the streets and minimize the dust emitted from the sweeper.  It's literally a huge vacuum cleaner using an array of water spray nozzles to moisten, brushes to loosen, and a recycled air system to clear most all debris types in its path.  As an added plus, it's also equipped with a suction hose and vacuum heads to clean out catch basins and vacuum difficult-to-sweep areas.

Street sweeping is a continuous and linear operation, so the Public Works Department can’t pinpoint when the sweeper will be on each street.  For each sweeping service, streets will receive two passes, once down each curb line.

Signage will be placed in neighborhoods to alert residents when the Rain Brigade is preparing to make a visit. Roberts said that residents can see that the sweeper has been through their streets due to the trail it leaves behind. “The trail may cause the road to look dirty, but it’s really cleaner than before the sweeper came through,” he said.

Roberts also advises that residents refrain from using the street sweeper as an opportunity to leave piles of leaves on the street. “That will actually clog the sweeper,” he said. “Residents will need to continue collecting and bagging their leaves as normal. We also ask for patience as we learn the routes and learn how to use this equipment efficiently.”

To learn more about the Brookhaven’s street sweeping program, visit www.BrookhavenGA.gov/publicworks/page/street-sweeping-program.

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Media Contact: 
Ann Marie Quill
Communications Manager
404-205-3832
AnnMarie.Quill@BrookhavenGA.gov