Downtown Undergoes Spring Cleaning

This vacuum is not recommended for home use.

City of Ventura sanitation crews lug this baby around on the back of a truck. With its 8-inch-wide nozzle and 450-foot-long hose, the mega-vacuum cleaner was put to work Monday unclogging sewers along Main and Poli streets as part of the city’s “Downtown Spring Clean-Up.”

“It will suck up anything that will fit up its nozzle,” said Brad Clark, a city maintenance worker who has witnessed the vacuum, a.k.a. the Vector, swallow 30-pound rocks, baseballs, beer bottles and bricks.

The Public Works Department is leaving no stone unturned in its special effort this week to clean streets, paint curbs, trim trees and fertilize plants in downtown Ventura. Apparently, that includes scrubbing gloppy gunk off manhole covers and steam-cleaning gooey gum off of sidewalks.

“That’s our biggest problem: chewing gum,” said Lyle Swaney, superintendent of street maintenance.

Beyond painting 53 downtown manhole covers black, city crews repainted 230 fire hydrants red.

Water main valves were inspected, street center lines re-striped and before the week is over 100 tons of asphalt will be used to fill potholes in city streets and parking lots.

Crews also fanned out to trim ficus trees and thin palm fronds.

To help keep downtown in a top shape, Partners in Progress for a Beautiful Ventura is looking for volunteers to adopt a beach or park for ongoing cleanup. The nonprofit beautification cleanup group encourages downtown businesses to do a bit of spring cleaning themselves. For information, call 652-4555.