Street maintenance and spring cleaning 2025

In connection with grit removal, street surfaces are treated with a dust-binding solution in order to prevent the spreading of dust. This cannot be done during night frosts because wet clean asphalt is dangerously slippery when it freezes. The risk of falling increases significantly if street cleaning starts too early, so we are keeping an eye on the situation to determine when it is safe to start.

Traffic barriers will be put back in place after the spring cleaning has been completed.

Espoo has been divided into maintenance districts where the work progresses at different speeds depending on the number of streets. Two districts are cleaned by a contractor and the rest by the city. Each district has its own schedule and therefore the work may be completed at slightly different times around the boundary between different areas.

Usually, the first grit removal round on main streets has been completed by May Day. The cleaning of side streets will most likely continue until the end of May. There are still many variables that can affect the process, such as weather conditions, the durability of our machines, and resources.

However, all the districts have the same goal – to clean the dustiest main streets first and to complete the work by the end of May.

The busiest streets are swept and washed in the evening or at night when there is less traffic. Street cleaning machines may cause noise, but the inconvenience is temporary and the streets will be in better condition in the morning.

Sweeping machines are not wide enough to clean an entire street or pedestrian and cycle path in one go. Residents may wonder about this if they see that only part of a street has been cleaned. We will clean the rest of the street in due course. After sweeping, the streets will be washed for the summer.

Street dust is already causing inconvenience to drivers, cyclists and other people on the streets. Street dust mainly consists of fine particles of grit and road salt mixed with tyre and road wear particles. Street dust impairs air quality throughout the capital region.

Grit removal starts on the busy main streets as they have the largest amount of dust. Avoid driving whenever possible and walk, ride your bike or use public transport instead. On a very dusty day, avoid walking in busy street areas and head for forest and park paths. If you want to remove grit from your yard, we recommend that you wet it before sweeping it.

Our customer service works closely with maintenance staff and informs them about the feedback received. You can send your feedback directly through the city’s online feedback system(external link, opens in a new window).

If possible, also send us a photo of the site in question. Based on the photo, we will be able to assess the urgency of the situation, which will accelerate the processing of your feedback.

You can also give location-based feedback through the Trimble Feedback mobile application(external link, opens in a new window). It is a quick way to send a message to customer service, for example concerning a need for maintenance. We go through all mobile feedback and forward it to experts who will take the necessary measures.