A well-maintained transportation system ensures the safe and efficient movement of people, goods and services and is essential to the city's economic vitality and environmental sustainability.
City services include pavement maintenance, concrete maintenance, median maintenance, alley maintenance, path maintenance, sidewalk maintenance, snow and ice removal, street cleaning, and traffic signal maintenance.
Enter the location of the pothole.
The City of Boulder routinely performs street and bike path sweeping. Street sweeping services include sweeping and cleaning streets and gutters to remove dirt, debris, and hazards to increase safety, improve drainage, and reduce dust and air pollution. Most of the work is accomplished using mechanical sweepers and hand cleaning is performed at inaccessible locations.
The city only performs street sweeping on roads maintained by the city. For street sweeping requests on Boulder County roads, please contact the county directly at 303-441-3962.
We sweep residential streets 2 to 3 times per year. Residential sweeping is weather-dependent. If we have a late or early winter, we will not be able to sweep every residential street 3 times. View the street sweeping map for areas that have recently been swept as well as future scheduled dates for street sweeping.
Due to the volume of requests we receive, it is not feasible for staff to make calls prior to sweeping.
We do on occasion post “No Parking” signs along areas with heavy debris and heavy on-street parking. This is a time consuming process to adhere to Boulder Revised Code and usually does not result in every car being removed. When cars remain parked in the no parking area, our staff notifies Parking Services who attempt to locate vehicle owners. If Parking Services is unsuccessful at locating the owners they will notify a towing service to relocate vehicles away from our work zone. Relocations are costly, and funded by the sweeping department. Due to recent budget reductions, relocating is not feasible and it sets a precedent that we will not enforce our no parking areas, further reducing compliance.
Our street sweepers are tall and overhanging tree branches can cause extensive damage to the cab and other components. If our operators encounter a tree branch that they believe will damage the vehicle, they will steer away from the curb to avoid the branch.
Depending on the amount of debris the operator is encountering they might only make one pass on each side of the street. Returning to sweep where one or several cars moved from reduces efficiency and can put the sweeping program behind schedule. Please visit our street sweeping webpage to access our interactive residential sweeping map. This map provides details on scheduled sweeping dates for all residential areas to help inform residents of when to expect their neighborhood sweepings.
During winter months we are focused on meeting our air quality commitment to the Denver Regional Council of Governments by sweeping priority snow routes following storm events. This effort allows us to focus on arterial corridors which inherently have on-street bicycle facilities. We are dedicated to providing safe travel around our multi-modal transportation system to all users, and ice melt material can pose added hazards to bicycle traffic. Additionally, residential areas tend to be shaded and gutter debris is typically frozen during the winter. Our sweepers are unable to break frozen debris loose and residential sweeping is generally ineffective during the winter.
We also sweep industrial, downtown and arterial streets.
Street sweeping occurs weekly on downtown streets and monthly on arterial streets.
During the winter we focus street sweeping efforts on arterials to sweep as part of our snow and ice response.
The City of Boulder’s Pavement Management Program includes inspecting and rating all streets on a three-year interval to maintain awareness of existing conditions and guide where pavement repairs will be made in future years.
Submit an accessibility concern to staff through Inquire Boulder.
Include relevant images, files or details on the accessibility issue.
Broken or damaged sidewalks are an eyesore, inconvenience, and safety hazard. Private property owners are responsible for maintaining the sidewalk(s) adjacent to their property. The City of Boulder has two sidewalk repair programs to help keep Boulder walkable. Licensed and insured contractors complete the repairs at competitive rates. The city may share the cost of sidewalk repairs in the right-of-way when:
Please provide the address or location of the sidewalk and any photos that will help us identify the specific area for repair.
According to the City of Boulder Revised Code 8-2-6, the property owner adjacent to the sidewalk is responsible for keeping their sidewalk in good repair and a safe, unobstructed condition.
For requested repairs, city staff will assess the request and contact the adjacent property owner to notify them of the issue and seek an agreement to share in the cost of repairs.
If practical, temporary measures may be taken to improve the current conditions while the property owners are being contacted and an agreement is sought to complete permanent repairs. These temporary measures could include patching and/or painting to make the hazard more visible. If feasible, the sidewalk may be ground down to eliminate the hazard.
Each year, the Annual Sidewalk Repair Program targets a specific area in Boulder to repair sidewalks and install pedestrian curb access ramps. The city covers the cost of the pedestrian curb access ramp improvement and shares the cost of the sidewalk repairs with the adjacent property owners.
See a map of the prioritized areas for the Annual Sidewalk Repair Program
The Miscellaneous Sidewalk Repair Program can share in sidewalk repairs anywhere in the city -- including within an area prioritized by the Annual Sidewalk Repair Program if the sidewalk is in need of immediate attention for accessibility or the safety of the travelling public.
Missing Sidewalk Links identities, prioritizes, and constructs missing sidewalk segments to provide a continuous pedestrian network and ensure a safe walking environment.
The Boulder Revised Code requires property owners to:
Property owners are responsible for removing, trimming, or cutting trees, bushes, and shrubs on their property that overhang sidewalks, streets and paths creating a public safety hazard or obstruction. Maintain landscape so that there are eight feet of overhead clearance above and eighteen inches of side clearance from any sidewalk, and path and so not to obstruct any traffic device or signs at all times of the year.
Branch piles left on the property or in the road are considered a violation of the city's trash ordinance.
For more information, please see Boulder Municipal Code on the subject of Public Right of Way and Public Easement Encroachments Prohibited 8-6-3.
This is a civil issue that should be taken up with your neighbors. If the issue cannot be resolved personally, the city's Housing and Human Services Department offers a Mediation Program to assist with resolving disputes. Call 303-441-4364 for assistance with mediation services.
We inspect all public unpaved alleys on an annually scheduled basis. Paved alleys are inspected on request. We then maintain alleys as needed, typically within 1 week of inspection. This may include potholing, reconstruction or grading. Most unpaved alleys are annually graded, which levels the alley to improve vehicle access.
Unpaved alley work takes place on a scheduled basis. Find your alley’s anticipated 2024 schedule for inspections and, if needed, maintenance, on the new map.
Accessing alleys is critical for your neighbors, trash and recycling collectors, maintenance, and emergency response. During maintenance, private property in a public alley is a violation and subject to removal at the owner's expense and enforcement action. By doing your part to clear the alley, work can be done quickly and efficiently. Thank you for your cooperation!
As part of our 2024 program and future work, we will inspect and maintain public alleys regardless of whether private work was completed, including gravel or other materials installed without a right-of-way permit.
Both paved and unpaved public alleys are included in the city's annual inspection schedule.
The city does not pave alleys due to the high cost of installation, repair and repaving. While paved alleys may seem more convenient, the reality is that the cost of paved alleys to taxpayers is high.
Trash cans should not be in the path of travel in an alley at any time. Please keep them as close to your house as possible. We will do our best to move cans that are left out in the alley, understanding that sometimes it is the trash pickup company that leaves trash cans in the alley.
We only do work within the public right of way. If you have vegetation that you have planted in the right of way, it should not be there.
When maintenance equipment is in the alley, cars should be parked on the street so city crews can more efficiently finish their work. Traffic impacts are minimal and city staff will make efforts to ensure access is maintained.
There are rare occasions when the unpredictable happens to private property. If there is damage to private property, please contact our Risk Management Team at riskmanagement@bouldercolorado.gov.
The city's Public Works Department performs routine maintenance for more than 600 hard surface and landscaped surface medians. Regular maintenance activities include weed control, landscaping, tree pruning, mowing, trash removal, and irrigation management.
The city also has an Adopt-a-Median Program where certain medians are eligible for adoption by Boulder residents and organizations. Adopting organizations and residents will be provided with trash bags and safety vests. A safety meeting for program participants will also be provided prior to the first median cleaning.
An adopting resident or organization will be asked to:
Transportation Maintenance staff will mow the area, repair irrigation systems, and replace trees and shrubs. If you should encounter maintenance crews that are performing these tasks, please be courteous and follow the traffic control in place if applicable.
For more information about the Adopt-a-Median Program, submit a service request on the Medians page on Inquire Boulder.
Safe operation of the city’s modern traffic system is an important part of engineering efficient travel for all transportation options. The city identifies the appropriate signal timing for each intersection based on many factors, such as:
Traffic levels at different times of day
Speed limits
The number of travel and turn lanes
Street classification
The city takes travel safety seriously. To provide feedback on traffic signal timing or locations, visit Inquire Boulder.
Submit a request on the Inquire Boulder Streetlights webpage for issues related to city-owned streetlights, including maintenance and new street lighting requests.
