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Many in Long Beach have seen them or been one of them: motorists napping or scrolling their phones in cars idling in the street, or maybe finishing their breakfast, or circling the block once more for an open spot, or watching nervously from their bedroom window, listening for that diesel-fueled roar approaching.  

For more than a century, street sweeping has been a necessary evil of life in a city, imperative to promote a clean image, prevent litter from entering the sewer system and keep rodents at bay. Residents must grudgingly obey the parking restrictions or else face a white envelope tucked under their windshield wiper. 

The only thing that could make it worse: when the sweeper never shows up. 

Long Beach crews never arrived to 17% of their sweeping routes in August, a gap they tie to staffing troubles, according to a memo released Wednesday. The inconsistent cleaning prompted complaints to the City Council, who asked staff to look into what’s going on.

It’s not intentional, city officials say, explaining they often don’t have enough employees to handle all the routes. Sweeping Long Beach’s roads takes 15 people, and they have 16 currently available, leaving little to no slack for vacations, training or sick days. Overtime rarely helps, because routes must be swept during posted hours. 

A street sweeper drives through an East Long Beach neighborhood, Thursday, March 18, 2021. Photo by Brandon Richardson.

To fix this, they interviewed for five unbudgeted positions in September and hope to train recruits this month. 

City sweepers are in decent shape — 15 of their 20 are in working condition — but a mid-route break can mean the rest of the way will go unswept. Construction, overgrown trees and uneven pavement also aggravate the problem, the memo said. 

Bike lanes and medians, meanwhile, aren’t swept on a regular schedule. They get done as staffing allows. Wider bike lanes fare better because regular sweepers fit in them. Sightings of the city’s smaller sweeper for narrow bike lanes are less frequent than Bigfoot, one council member recently told us.

The city wants a better situation, but that won’t happen until staffing improves and a new sweeper is added. Overtime could speed this up, but it isn’t in the budget.

Officials say they’re also open to changing sweep times; the city last changed times in a phased effort starting in 2016, moving it to later in the morning and cutting parking restriction windows from four hours to two hours. And they acknowledge that those hoping for a heads-up when their street is skipped won’t find one. The city has no formal system for notifying residents or Council offices about missed routes. Staff handle it by phone and email, and post social media alerts for planned disruptions. A formal process is being developed, and missed areas are prioritized for follow-up.

In August, a new software went live inside sweepers that tracks routes, logs problems and records what was missed. With some baseline data, the city says it will review routes and schedules by summer 2027. 

Quick sips of the latest news

  • Chamber CEO retires: After a 6-year tenure, Jeremy Harris will step down as president and CEO of the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce on Nov. 27. Assuming the role in July 2020, he led the chamber through the pandemic and now leaves it with the highest membership rate since 2009. The board of directors is developing a transition plan and will announce details, including the search for his successor, in the coming weeks. Harris has volunteered to advise the leadership during the transition.
  • Airport hangar expansion:  The Long Beach Planning Commission will hear a request Thursday to nearly double the size of an aircraft hangar complex at Long Beach Airport. Bonseph Long Beach LLC, working for Aeroplex Group Partners, wants to expand Hangar 1 from 31,500 to 61,695 square feet and replace a one-story, 6,000-square-foot office with a two-story building of about 18,000 square feet, which would raise the project’s total building area from 74,000 to roughly 116,770 square feet. The changes would reduce parking from 117 to 84 spaces and cut landscaping by about 4,200 square feet. City officials recommend approval, saying the project would not increase flights or noise at the airport.
  • Travel slump: Passenger counts at Long Beach Airport have declined 9% through August, according to city data, likely due to a 16% drop in availability amid fewer flights through the airport. 
  • Last chance to vote: Voting centers are open across Los Angeles County through Election Day on Nov. 3. You can find a center here. Need a ride? Long Beach Transit is offering free fares on all routes on Election Day, including for its Dial-a-Lift riders. For those mailing in their ballot, you can return it (no postage required) to one of the 20 registered drop boxes or a voting center. Voters can track their ballots here. Keep in mind: nearly all of the city races — mayor, City Council, etc. — were decided in the June primary. But for those races that are continuing, check out our most recent voter guides here. For those complicated statewide propositions, we recommend CalMatters’ guide. Our partner LAist has great guides for the regional races.
  • The Long Beach City Council will not meet Tuesday. Check here for the most up-to-date agendas. 
  • We’ve launched a guide to help you prepare for a potentially historic El Niño rainy season. What else should we include? Hit reply and let me know.