KREWE OF KLEANUP

SPECIAL TO ELGIN SWEEPER DIVISION OF FEDERAL SIGNAL CORPORATION

PHOTO JOURNALISM BY GINI AND DAN MCKAIN
MARCH 2004

Lafayette, Louisiana annually hosts dozens of Parades during the festive preLenten season sponsored by the Mystic Krewes of Mardi Gras.  There is one parade by the Crewe of Couche-Chouche, one by the Krew of Bonaparte, one of the Krewe of Victoria and another by The Krewe of Des Jeunes Amis.  It's a tradition that dates Back hundred of years with roots in early European society.

In Lafayette, however, there is none quite as Important as the Krewe of Kleanup.  That's the one Sponsored by the Public Works Department and Involves several six Elgin Pelican and Eagle sweepers,Four tandem dump trucks and 140 dedicated city-parishemployees.  All are committed to cleaning the city streets after the witching hour arrives on Fat Tuesday and before dawn arrives on Ash Wednesday.

University studies of the annual economic impact of the Lafayette Mardi Gras indicate that upwards of a million dollars is spent, much of it locally, on beads, cups, doubloons, and other disposable "throws".  While most of this goes home as treasured souvenirs, a large percentage gets trampled and crushed by the crowds and is simply left where it falls.

This situation is not taken lightly.  No less an authority than Dr Daniel Wiltz, MD, pointed out the absolute necessity of immediately removing the debris that littered the city's streets after the prades so it doesn't become a public health concern. 

The Grand marshal of this year's Lafayette Mardi Gras Association's parade and coroner of St. Martin Parish, Dr Wiltz said that to do otherwise opens the area to a potential rodent infestation and the diseases that it brings with it.

"In addition, the immediate removal of the litter, especially in inclement weather as we had during this year's Mardi Gras, prevents from 60 to 90 percent of potentially toxic solutions from infiltrating the surface groundwater.  This is also a significant ecological benefit to the community," commented Dr. Daniel A. Wiltz.

DPW Director tom Carol, a comparative newcomer, in his position, readily agreed with Dr. Wiltz but added that, with the fully experienced management team that has long been in place, there was little to do but let his crew handle the cleanup as they said they could.

Street Superintendent Steve Trumps pointed out another reason for using the Elgin sweeper and ancillary equipment.  He explained that, at this time, storm water is not treated but rather discharged directly into nearby bayous that go through the town.  Trumps, a 22 year veteran of the city/parish DPW and Street Superintendent for the past 11, said that after parade
cleanup it also routine new with the experience of his management team and the quality of street cleaning equipment owned by the city.  The sweepers are the backbone of the cleaning operation.

Foreman Paul Prejean, a 23 year Lafayette DPW veteran said that the beginnings and the ends of the parade routes generally contain the heaviest debris concentrations with consumer litter heavier toward the centers where the majority of people view the parades.  All along the routes from beginning to end people set up tables with grills, smokers and portable BBQ cookers.
It's like a football game tailgate party gone public.  The leftover foodstuffs, used paper plates and cups and all the wrapping they came in, of course, find their way to where they too become DPW cleanup.

Ronnie Tatman, an operator of one of the city's Elgin Pelican sweepers for the past five years, commented that there are all kinds of things you can do to increase the efficiency and usefulness once you understand the basics of street sweeping.  He said this was especially important when it came to picking up wet Litter that had a tendency to cling to rain soaked streets.

The Elgin Pelicans sweep an overlapping pass behind the lead Eagle machine next to the curbs first. The Pelican sweepers then circle their way to the center of the street, sometimes making several passes until it's clean of debris.  At least a half a block down each side of the intersections are also swept, because of the ‘tailgating' that occurs there.

Elgin's best-known product, the three-wheel broom sweeper ‘The Pelican', is the culmination of over 90 years of product research and development.

The Elgin Eagle is a four-wheel mechanical (broom) sweeper that combines the proven Elgin sweep system, with variable high dump capabilities and highway transport speeds for maximum productivity.

Built on a commercial chassis, the Eagle features a dual mode air suspension system so an operator can go from a solid rear axle for sweeping and dumping stability to a fully sprung chassis for operator comfort and control during high speed transport.

Street Maintenance Foreman Alton Batiste said that constant attention to preventive maintenance procedures was key to the availability of the city's Elgin sweepers.  Secondary to that was to have mechanics on duty at night after the Mardi Gras parades in case there was a breakdown and a Pelican or Elgin sweeper had to be repaired to keep it rolling and not shortchange the equipment spread.

A few years back the City attempted to put trash barrels out in hopes that people would use them instead of littering the streets.  That proved futile and the idea was replaced with encouraging the use of large plastic trash bags.  These are left curbside and picked up after the parade, too.  These bags are picked up loaders.

Lafayette, populatin 150,000, is the largest city in Southwest Louisiana.  Lafayette Parish portions of which are also served by the DPW has 205,000 residents.  It is considered the epicenter of the eight parish (county) Cajun Culture in the state.  Although its Mardi Gras celebrations, masked balls and parades are significant differences.  Lafayette Mardi Gras parades
date back to 1869, but today are very family oriented.  Bring your food with the children and have a good time.

The Big Easy cleans their streets after their parades With the use of water trucks pressuring the litter away in front of it.  A significant amount goes down catch basins and into the storm water drainage system.  Not so in Lafayette.  World Champion New England Patriot's running back, Kevin Faulk as Kin Tousaint L'Oliverture XLVI and Carolina panthers quarterback
Jake Delhomme in another Lafayette Marti Gras parade were only slightly ahead of the DPW's Krewe of Kleanup.  It was the dancing, bobbing and weaving of the Elgin sweepers, however, that gathered up the most beads of the day.  The sweepers are not beyond a minor mechanical malfunction or two during their performance.  But the PDW mechanics were, as usual, on duty and remedied the situations posthaste.

It is estimated by the DPW that they have an Estimated 16 to 20 curb miles to clean with the Elgin Sweepers after every Mardi Gras parade festivity.  During Normal warm weather parades has generated upwards Of one hundred tons.  When the weather take a turn for the worse and the rains come in, the total tonnage drops down because the crowds are fewer in number and generate less waste.  The downside to that equatin is that the material becomes considerably harder to retrieve.  In some cases it means requiring the mechanical sweepers to make a second or even tertiary pass.

Each Elgin sweeper, as it fills its hopper, pulls up to a pre-positioned 14 c.y. DPW dump truck and empties its load.  The dump trucks then drive round-robin to one of four designated city locations and empty into roll on-roll off containers.  These are later hauled away and the contents disposed of by Waste Management Inc.

There is much more involved than simply sweeping Up leftover Mardi Gras beads, cups, doubloons and other empty containers.  The tight maneuvering performance and high speed constraints in the Stygain Darkness by the operators of the Elgin Pelican and Eagle sweepers during the cleanup are mandated to be done within the utmost safety.

With the enormous number of festivals and celebrations of all kinds hosted by the City of Lafayette annually, something on the average of one every weekend, the Department of Public Works has its job cut out for it.  And praise here must be given to the cooperation the Krewe of cleanup receives from the city's police department and the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office.

In addition to providing security and maintaining order during the parade events, the police do double duty after the parade.  They are key to the rapid dispersal of the thousands of parade watchers and bead chasers so the major thoroughfares can open up to traffic again.  Then the DPW crews can do their work once leaving traffic has subsided.  Equally as important, however, is That the police provide traffic control as the Elgin sweepers do their intricate dance back and forth across
the roads and streets picking up the litter.

The procedure commences at the marshalling point and, after officers use their squad cars with emergency lights flashing to close down a given area between intersections, work commences. Hand crews with brooms, rakes and portable blowers first move debris and litter from the sidewalks and grass areas into the streets.  At about the same time the mechanized crews move in with the dump trucks, Elgin sweepers and ground support personnel.  Once that zone is cleaned, the police leapfrog from back to front and the DPW contingent move forward as a unit leaving behind a totally cleaned street or thoroughfare.