Street Sweeping in Berkeley? Here’s How to Avoid a Ticket

Click to see if Street Sweeping is suspended in the next days

Berkeley Street sweeping is known to be brutal, but it’s what keeps the city looking so pristine. Many houses in Berkeley residential areas don’t have their own driveways, so knowing when to move cars is paramount for residents. Keep reading to learn how street cleaners work their way through the city, and how to protect your car from being ticketed or towed on street cleaning days.

How does Berkeley street sweeping work?

Residential Street sweeping (or street cleaning) is facilitated by the Department of Public Works in Berkeley. Residential streets are cleaned once a month, and the time of day varies by block.

Commercial streets are cleaned more often, and the easiest way to see whether your car is parked in a spot with upcoming street sweeping is by downloading the Spot Angels app, which attaches to your GPS location to serve you with information regarding parking costs and upcoming Berkeley street sweeping restrictions.

View Street Cleaning Map

What is the Berkeley street sweeping schedule?

You can count on street cleaning occurring on the same day each month. So if you had to move your car on the first Tuesday of this month, rest assured it will always occur on the first Tuesday.

Street sweeping in Berkeley occurs at varying intervals throughout the day, depending on where in the city you are. Certain residential streets are cleaned in the morning, while others are swept later in the day. To see when street sweeping occurs near you, simply navigate to the Berkeley street sweeping map, type in the address you’d like to know the hours for and check the sidebar. 

View Street Cleaning Map with Schedule

Is it legal to park after the Street Sweeper passes?

Nowhere in the city municipal code does it state that drivers are allowed to park on streets designated for street cleaning when the restriction is in effect, even after the cleaning itself has been completed. It is common practice for drivers to move their cars for the street sweeper and move them back after it has passed, but be wary.

How much does a Berkeley street sweeping ticket cost? 

A street sweeping ticket costs $49, and after 30 days will cost $79 if it has not been paid. On day 49, that fine goes up to $129. The transaction fee to pay your ticket online is $2.

The SpotAngels app is the easiest way to make sure your car is safe from being ticketed and is increasingly used by Berkeley residents. The app connects to the car’s Bluetooth and runs in the background to automatically set a reminder for street cleaning in Berkeley each time the vehicle parks. The app is free and available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

Get the free SpotAngels App

Berkeley Street Sweeping Holidays

Berkeley has had to scale back their street cleaning as a cost-saving measure, so if your street cleaning day falls on a holiday, it will resume on the next regularly scheduled day.

Keep in mind, meter holidays are different. If you want to see when meters are free in the city of Berkeley, check out this Berkeley street parking guide.

In residential areas, street sweeping in Berkeley is suspended during city holidays listed at the bottom of this page

Click to see if Street Sweeping is suspended in the next days

If you’re still confused about what the different colored signs on Berkeley streets mean, or what the 72-hour rule really means, check out the definitive guide to Berkeley street parking.

View Berkeley Street Sweeping Map