City Reverses Position On Street Cleaning

In response to residential complaints, the City of Reykjavík has decided they will sweep the sidewalks after all.

Initially, the city planned on ending street sweeping with the intent of saving about 3 million ISK and letting the rain do most of the work instead. However, Vísir reports, the backlash has compelled the city to rethink and reverse that decision.

Complaints came in from pedestrians, bicyclists and general residents. In particular, these complaints pointed out that sand used for traction on the ice during the winter covers the sidewalks in the spring. This is not only very difficult to navigate through on a bicycle; it also kicks up a considerable amount of air pollution. In addition, street cleaning is a service municipalities are legally bound to provide.

“We will respond to this, and we will start sweeping and cleaning again on Monday,” city spokesperson Jón Halldór Jónasson told reporters. “It’s already started by pre-sweeping the streets, so the large part of it will be taken care of before we make everything spic and span.”

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