Winter wasted no time bringing us a healthy dose of the white stuff, allowing us to put our snow removal plan to the test! Now that you’ve seen us in action, let me tell you more about how we handle snow storms in Chesapeake. Every year before winter officially begins, the Public Works Department gets together to inspect their winter weather equipment. Plows are attached to trucks, equipment is tested, salt/sand supply is checked and employees are trained and refreshed on their responsibilities. This annual training session is very important and ensures that our plan still makes sense for our City year after year. Because we don’t get snow storms all that often in Chesapeake, our resources for snow removal ...

Plastic bags can be handy but they’re often vilified for what they do to our environment - and for good reason. They can take as many as 1,000 years to break down and as they break down, they can contaminate soil and harm wildlife. But wait, there’s hope! Many plastic bags are easily recycled (just NOT in your blue bin). The next time you head to the grocery store, look for the plastic bag recycling bin near the entrance/exit. It’s probably full of mostly plastic grocery bags but you can actually recycle even more in the same bin. Here are a few items you might not have known about: Polyethylene stretch and shrink wrap Newspaper Sleeves Paper towel/toilet paper ...

Simple maintenance of the ditches on your property can greatly impact their ability to keep stormwater flowing. As we discussed last week, ditch maintenance is a shared responsibility between homeowners and the City. Just a few small actions on your part can help maintain the system as a whole. Here are a few tips: Keep ditches clear of grass clippings, leaves, garbage, and all other debris. It is illegal to dump anything into a ditch. Do not use root or weed killer in the ditch. Vegetation is critical to keep a ditch from eroding so you don’t want to do anything to risk killing it off. Once a ditch starts to erode, sediment falls into the stormwater system and can ...

We’re happy to provide bulk trash collection as part of your Chesapeake Waste Management service and now, we want to make the process of scheduling that collection even easier. We’ve taken out the question of whether your collection is household or yard/tree debris. Now you just schedule a bulk trash collection! If you’re like me and love to schedule these collections online through www.CityofChesapeake.net/Requests, especially since you can do that up until 11:59 p.m. the day before your trash day, then this will make that process even faster. You’ll select “Bulk Trash Collection” and then you’ll choose what item needs collected (e.g. mattress, appliance, tree limbs, bushes, etc.). Keep in mind, though, that just because ...

Traffic engineering is a constantly evolving field, adding in new technology and adjusting to the changing needs of our roadways. One way we’re improving traffic flow and safety at select intersections here in Chesapeake is with the flashing yellow left arrow. Drivers are trained to equate red, yellow and green with stop, prepare to stop and go, respectively. On a traditional left-turn signal, the green circle tells drivers that a left turn is permissible when safe to do so. Unfortunately, many drivers just see “GO”, potentially causing an accident with oncoming traffic. Flashing yellow arrow signals solve this problem by only giving drivers a green when oncoming traffic has a red light so left turns are safe. Flashing yellow left ...

Soapy water does not help clean our waterways. In fact, it’s a pollutant. While I doubt anyone washes their car directly in the river, remember that all properties in Chesapeake are connected to local waterways through the stormwater system. When you wash your car in the street or your driveway, all of that soapy water (not to mention the dirt, grease and car fluids it gets mixed up with) runs down your driveway, into the stormwater system and out to local waterways. If you’re going to wash your car at home, consider washing it over your lawn or a gravel surface instead of on concrete or asphalt. The permeable surface will act as a natural filter to clean up the ...

Grass can be beautiful but it also requires a lot of resources like water and fertilizer. Not to mention the mowing! You might want to consider completely replacing some of your grass with mulched areas. Mulch helps retain moisture, control erosion and stabilize soil temperature. Throw a few native plants in that mulch bed and you’ve got yourself a great alternative to grass! But I know there are lots of folks out there who love that expansive green lawn look. If that’s you, make sure you’re mowing smart. You want to avoid cutting your lawn too low as this could cause your grass to fry in the summer heat. If your grass has a bit of a white hue after ...

Happy Public Works Week! Every year around this time, Public Works Week is celebrated by departments nationwide and is used as an opportunity to educate the public on who we are and what we do. I hope that I do that each week for you in this article but there’s always more to learn! Here are a few facts you might not already know about your Public Works Department. There are over 460 employees in the Public Works Department. We provide over 300 separate services and receive over 133,000 service requests each year. Public Works is made up of several divisions: Waste Management, Stormwater, Engineering, Operations and Maintenance, Facilities Maintenance/Construction, Chesapeake Transportation System. We operate out of six different ...

Not every household generates the same amount of waste. A family of five will certainly create more waste than a household with just two people. Or perhaps you’re an avid recycler and your blue bin runneth over each week. We have options for you! The standard trash and recycling bins are 96 gallons. If that isn’t large enough for your weekly waste or recycling, you can purchase an additional 96-gallon bin. Maybe you just need a little extra space each week. We also have 64 and 35 gallon options in both the trash and recycling. You can purchase a total of one extra bin in any size you’d like. Keep in mind, if extra trash is the problem, you might ...

We love it when people get excited about recycling but sometimes that excitement can turn into extra contamination in the blue bin. Here are some of the items we see in the blue bins this time of year that shouldn’t be there. Plastic planters: Flowers are great but those plastic containers you get them in are not recyclable. Consider reusing them for future plantings. *Edited to add that a reader recently informed me that some local garden stores like McDonald's Garden Center will accept your old planters for recycling. Sounds like a great option! Hoses: Hoses, whether they’re still functioning or not, do not belong in the blue bin. Broken hoses must be tossed in the trash but if it’s ...

Mowing season has begun! As you’re dusting off that mower and getting to work on your yard, we’re also starting our mowing season for the City’s right-of-way. Two contractors are in charge of mowing with supplemental help from Sheriff’s inmate crews and Public Works staff when needed. Chesapeake mows medians, shoulders and open areas. Medians are mowed every 10-14 days, shoulders every 21-28 days and open areas around 2-3 times a year. And while you may choose to mow your own yard more often, Chesapeake is no small city so there’s a lot of ground to cover. Our two contractors mow approximately 6,900 miles of shoulders and 2000 acres of medians per season. To put it into perspective, just ...

Did you know there’s a right and wrong way to place your trash at the curb? Whether it’s in a bin, in a bag or out for bulk waste collection, here are a few notes on how to best curb your trash. Bin Spacing: Separate your garbage bin, recycling bin, and any nearby obstructions (e.g. mailboxes, utility poles) by three feet. This gives the truck room to grab the bin, dump it, and place it back on the ground. Look out below: Do not place your bulk waste piles or trash containers in ditches or on top of storm drains or utility access points. Find a place that does not block the flow of traffic or pedestrians like the ...

Last week we talked about pothole repairs but what happens when a patch here or there isn’t enough? That’s when we start talking about road resurfacing. The Public Works Department maintains over 2,300 lane miles of roadway and has a limited budget each year so we have to be very systematic with how we determine which roads get repaved. Here’s how we do it. The annual resurfacing schedule is determined using three main factors: Measured pavement ratings Rate of pavement deterioration Traffic volumes served To determine pavement ratings, we use a Laser Road Surface Tester (RST) which analyzes the surface and sub-surface of the road. Data collected from the RST goes into the Pavement Management System which also takes ...

The Public Works Department provides a wide variety of services throughout the City. Many of them happen without you asking – like garbage collection – but sometimes we simply need a heads up that there’s an issue so that we can respond – like with potholes. Or maybe you don’t need to request a service but you have a question about something Public Works related and just don’t know who to contact about it. If you’ve ever found yourself thinking, “How do I request/report X, Y, Z?” then here’s your answer: the Customer Contact Center. The Customer Contact Center is a group of - in my opinion - the most knowledgeable people in the City. They know about everything ...

The New Year wasted no time in putting our snow removal plan to the test! Now that you’ve all seen us in action, let me tell you more about how we handle snow storms in Chesapeake. Every year before winter officially begins, the Public Works Department gets together to test out the snow removal plan. Plows are attached to trucks, equipment is tested, salt/sand supply is checked and employees are trained and refreshed on their responsibilities. Because we don’t get snow storms all that often in Chesapeake, this annual training session is very important and ensures that our plan still makes sense for our City. Here in southeastern Virginia, we thankfully don’t have to worry about snow storms all that ...

The holiday season comes with lots of fun but there’s an unfortunate side effect that we often ignore: waste. From gift wrap to packaging to old electronics, we end up with a lot to get rid of. Here’s how you can be smart with your holiday waste. Blue Bin Recycling: Wrapping paper, gift boxes, cardboard boxes (break down all boxes first) and holiday cards are all recyclable in your blue bin. Reuse: Save gift ribbon, bows and gift bags to reuse next year as these generally cannot be recycled and would otherwise have to go to the landfill. Plastics: Most local grocery stores have a bin at their entrance where you can recycle more than just your plastic grocery bags! ...

Bridge lifts are a way of life here in Chesapeake. A necessary evil for living in a city filled with beautiful waterways! Let's revisit a few previous blogs about bridges with this quick game of True or False. The City of Chesapeake decides when to open a bridge. FALSE. The City of Chesapeake is bound by Federal regulations enforced by the U.S. Coast Guard (33 CFR 499 and 117). We work with the Coast Guard to determine restricted hours but at the end of the day, the schedule is up to them. And according to federal law, marine traffic has the right-of-way. Drawbridges should not open AT ALL during their restricted periods. FALSE. Restricted periods simply reduce the number ...

We’re often asked at our Chesapeake Recycles Day events if we can accept old medications with the household hazardous waste. The answer – no. Old medications are only ever accepted at DEA Drug Take Back events run by the police department. But we do care about where old drugs end up. Why? Obviously we want to help prevent pill abuse and theft but there’s also an environmental aspect of it. Medications should NEVER be flushed or washed down the drain. The wastewater treatment process cannot fully remove pharmaceutical chemicals from water before releasing it back into local rivers and streams, which can affect wildlife and the health of our waterways. Proper disposal is key. Here’s your chance! The next DEA ...

15.00 We try to outline what can and cannot be recycled in as much detail as we can but our partners at TFC Recycling still say they see a lot of contaminators. We've talked about why plastic bags are some of the worst contaminators, but what else makes the list? Here are a few items that are all too often found in the blue bin when they do not belong there: Clothing and clothes hangers - Clothes that could still be enjoyed by someone else should be donated to your local thrift store. Hangers of any material (plastic, wire, etc) must go in the brown bin. Rigid plastics such as toys or waste bins - Again, if the items ...

Chesapeake has well over 21,000 street lights which cost over 2 million each year to operate and maintain. And while 21,000 may sound like a lot, we very often get requests for more. But there are many reason why we can't just install new lights whenever and wherever they're requested. Here are a few things we consider: Why Is It Needed - Is the request for additional lighting coming in because of traffic safety concerns? To discourage criminal activity? These reasons will be investigated to determine the need. Where is the Electricity - When your electricity is underground, adding a street light becomes much more complicated and incredibly expensive. It also might require extensive digging through private property ...

Litter control is a never-ending battle. You pick up litter on your street and the very next day more garbage has sprouted up like weeds. We learn in elementary school that littering is bad – it’s not a difficult concept – and yet some people still do it. Our Adopt-A-Highway program empowers community groups and individuals to squash litter bugs by claiming a stretch of roadway to care for and keep clean. We can provide garbage bags and safety vests if you’ll provide the hands! That old phrase “Many hands make light work” is so the case in the fight against litter. The program is pretty simple. Once you adopt a stretch of roadway, you agree to pick up garbage ...

We've all heard plenty about mosquitoes over the past several months so we know they're not our best friends right now. One of the main breeding grounds, particularly for the mosquitoes that could carry the Zika virus, is standing water. And where's a perfectly sneaky spot for some standing water? Old tires laying around your backyard. Did you know that Public Works will pick up certain tires through the bulk waste program? Just schedule a household bulk pickup (remember you're limited to 12 household bulk pickups per year). We will accept two passenger car tires with no rims per residence per collection. While you're at it, it may be a good time to clean out some of the other items ...

Our Waste Management folks need a little space. Between your garbage and recycling bins that is! There needs to be at least three feet between bins to allow room for the claw from the garbage truck to reach down, grab the can, dump it and place it back down. When your cans are too close together, the garbage truck driver has to get out and separate them, which can cause a delay in his or her schedule. And this doesn't just go for bin-to-bin space. Your bins should be at least three feet away from absolutely any obstruction! Mailboxes, fire hydrants, utility poles, vehicles, etc. We all need personal space – garbage bins are no exception. Three feet around. We ...

Are you a Bay Star Home? If not, July is definitely the month to join because you could receive a free soil test kit! Hundreds of your neighbors have already joined the program. Bay Star Homes pledge to do several things that will contribute to the health of the environment. From scooping the poop, to properly disposing of hazardous waste to using reusable shopping bags, there are so many ways you can make a difference. When you pledge, you get a free Bay Star Home yard flag and access to tons of environmental tips and information about local events. If you sign up any time in the month of July, you'll be entered to win one of 75 free soil ...

15.00 Our friends at Recycling Perks posted a great blog the other day about why plastic bags are so detrimental to our recycling process. It's really worth repeating. Below is a quick synopsis but the original is worth the read - find it here. Reason 1 - Initial sorting is done by hand, meaning real live human workers have to rip open the bags, costing time and also creating potential hazards. They don't know what could be in that bag! Could be non-recyclables or could easily be broken glass. Reason 2 - Plastic bags get stuck in the machinery and can cause the entire process to shut down for repairs. If you want to line your indoor recycling bin ...

15.00 Our friends at TFC Recycling do a great job recycling #1 and #2 plastics that are in the shape of a bottle (yes, they have to be in the shape of a bottle). But what about #3-#7 recyclables? The numbers on the bottom of plastic containers tell us the type of plastic used to make them. Not all plastics are created equal believe it or not! Some plastics are more valuable when recycled than others. Think about it. For everything we recycle, there has to be some kind of second life for them. But if no one wants a bale of recycled #4 plastic, it's not worth it for TFC to collect them because it won't move out ...

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 This week is the first Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week, a group effort between Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania to inspire citizens to care for this great natural resource. In Chesapeake, about a third of our land area drains to the Chesapeake Bay via the Elizabeth River (Find your watershed here!) Let’s use this week to remember why we care so much about the health of the Chesapeake Bay – and all bodies of water! The Chesapeake Bay provides some delicious food – fish, oysters, crabs, YUM! Polluted waters mean no food for you. In addition to the animals we eat, the Chesapeake Bay is home to a huge assortment of wildlife ...

May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, a great reminder for drivers on four wheels to share the road. Motorcycles are vehicles with the same rights and privileges as any motor vehicle on the road. In 2014, nearly 5,000 motorcyclists were killed in traffic accidents. The Chesapeake Transportation Safety Commissions suggests the following to keep everyone safe: Be aware of your vehicle's blind spots and know that motorcycles are smaller than most vehicles and therefore less visible. Never share a lane side by side with a motorcycle. Allow extra distance when following a motorcycle to give the rider more time to maneuver or stop. And most importantly - never drive distracted! Everyone be safe out there! Normal 0 false false ...

There are so many great reasons to recycle but there's one particular "perk" that happens to be my favorite: Recycling Perks! The Recycling Perks program is an easy way to save money every time you pull that trash can to the curb. Just sign up at www.RecyclingPerks.com (you'll need the number printed on your recycling bin) and get started. So exactly what happens when you sign up for Recycling Perks? Every time your recycling bin is emptied, the RFID tag within the bin is read by the pickup truck and a message is sent to your Recycling Perks account awarding you points. Those points add up and can be redeemed for discounts at local businesses. There's a great ...

I hear this all the time: "The bridge lifted during restricted hours when it's not supposed to lift!" Unfortunately for motorists, that's not actually the case. Restricted periods do not equal zero bridge lifts. Restricted periods for drawbridges mean just that - openings are restricted, aka limited, but not prohibited. Bridge lift schedules are determined by the U.S. Coast Guard. The City is required by federal law to comply (33 U.S.C. 499). We work with the Coast Guard to determine when restricted hours should take place (when the roadway sees the most traffic) but at the end of the day, marine traffic has the right-of-way. During restricted periods, bridges will not open for pleasure crafts. They ...

This week we celebrate Work Zone Awareness Week to encourage safe driving through work zones. Our city is no stranger to work zones. We've got a lot going on! From big, long-term projects like the Dominion Blvd Improvement Project to smaller, short-duration projects like pothole patching, you're bound to run into roadwork at some point on your travels. Here are a few tips we hope you'll consider. Follow the Speed Limit: Speed limits in work zones are seriously non-negotiable. Many times the limit is lowered during construction like on Dominion Blvd where the normally 55 mph roadway is now at 35 mph (25 mph in some places). And unless noted specifically on the speed limit sign, these adjusted speed limits ...

Our friends at AskHRGreen.org have a wealth of information available for how you can make the most of your time outdoors this spring without wreaking havoc on the environment. Here are a few "Spring Do's" to get you started. Next week we'll tackle those "Spring Don'ts". Your two-part series starts now! DO participate in a cleanup project for Great American Cleanup. The Great American Cleanup is a grassroots community involvement program that encourages folks all over the country to do their part in keeping our community clean and healthy. There are plenty of opportunities locally to get involved. Get all the info and find ways you can help here. DO test your soil. Believe it or not, all soil ...

It’s time for our annual Pothole Blitz! Every year, usually in March when we start to thaw out from winter, the Public Works Department puts extra resources towards a coordinated effort to repair as many potholes as possible. Repairing potholes during the winter is a losing battle. The freeze/thaw cycle is what helps create potholes in the first place so repairs don’t always last during that time of year. But once the temperatures start to rise we can get in some more solid repairs so that’s just what we’re doing starting next week! I can tell you from first hand experience that pothole repair is not an easy job (check out the video on this page of my crash course ...

If you drive a vehicle in Chesapeake then you have, without a doubt, sat at a bridge lift. If you have never done so - please share your secrets! I continue to stun family and friends with my uncanny ability to hit every bridge lift when they're with me in the car. Me, the girl who posts information about Chesapeake bridges lifts on the internet. So you see, none of us are exempt! Bridge lifts are a way of life around here so let's play a quick game of True or False to learn more. The City of Chesapeake decides when to open a bridge. FALSE. The City of Chesapeake is bound by Federal regulations enforced by the U.S. ...

Back by popular demand and better than ever! Chesapeake Recycles Day continues to grow with a total of six events for 2016. March 12, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. – Southgate Plaza Shopping Center April 23, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. – Tidewater Community College June 11, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. – 3316 S Military Hwy July 23, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. – Greenbrier Mall September 10, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. – Sam's Club, Western Branch November 12, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. – Tidewater Community College Bring your household hazardous waste for proper disposal through SPSA, electronics and household items for recycling through Goodwill, ...

Our final Chesapeake Recycles Day for 2015 is this Saturday, November 14 from 9 a.m. to noon at the TCC Chesapeake Campus on Cedar Road. Bring your electronics and plastic bags for recycling, your household hazardous waste for proper disposal and your sensitive documents for shredding. Personal items only, please - we cannot take waste from businesses. Visit www.CityofChesapeake.net/RecyclesDay for a full list of what we can and cannot accept. All we ask is that you bring a canned food item for a local food pantry. These events are always really fun and, I hope, convenient. It's amazing how many people take time out of their Saturday to do the right thing by bringing their waste to ...