Street maintenance, situation on 15 November 2023

When the temperature drops close to zero, the moisture in the air freezes and forms a thin coating of ice on the road surface. Black ice is hard to see, which is why you have to be prepared. So switch to winter tyres in time!

Make sure to wear weather-appropriate shoes. Studded shoes are your best option when the streets are slippery.

Leave home in time because traffic can be slow-going when the weather is bad. Focus on your own travel and pay attention to the traffic.

Our snowploughs and gritters must have easy access to streets and park paths that are maintained in the winter. Therefore, barrier gates are kept open from the beginning of November until the end of April. You must not break the locks on barrier gates or use your own locks on them.

Barrier gates and concrete barriers will be put back in place after spring cleaning has been completed.

If a tree, bush or other plant growing on private land is obstructing a street, including pedestrian and cycling paths, the property owner is responsible for removing the overhanging parts. The property owner or holder is responsible for taking care of the vegetation on their property. Trees and bushes must be trimmed in time to ensure road safety and unhindered visibility.

Individual or damaged branches can be cut and bushes can be trimmed at any time of the year. The best time to thin or cut down bushes is when there are no leaves on the ground. This will keep the nutrients in the roots and allow the bush to grow new branches quickly. Vegetation that poses a risk to traffic and mobility must be cut immediately.

Leaves fallen from trees may cause streets to get slippery. Thick layers of leaves may also cover potholes and other obstacles on the way. You should be extra cautious when travelling on a street covered with leaves.

Property owners/holders are obliged to keep the covers of street gullies next to their property free of fallen leaves. This allows rainwater to flow freely. Property owners/holders should also keep the pipes under their driveway free from leaves.

As days get darker, you should make yourself more visible. A motorist driving with dipped headlights will only notice a pedestrian who is not wearing a reflector when they are about 50 metres away. If the pedestrian is wearing a reflector, the motorist can see them from 350 metres away. Wearing several reflectors at once improves your visibility even further.

Put on your high-visibility vest, wear reflectors and remember to improve the visibility of your pets too!

Our customer service works closely with maintenance staff and informs them about the feedback received. Our maintenance staff cleans the streets systematically, one area at a time.

You can send your feedback directly through the city’s online feedback system(external link, opens in a new window). Both our feedback and telephone services are quite busy from time to time, and waiting times may be long.

If you can, 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.