Summer Maintenance Information Guide

The City and Borough of Juneau Streets Division is responsible for taking care of approximately 475 paved and multiple aggregate (dirt) roads. We maintain stairways in the downtown Juneau area and in Douglas and CBJ maintenance projects in the summer include curbs/sidewalks, bike lanes and streetlights and various other projects. Our Streets crews are out there ensuring the public is safe, please be patient with us while we work. Traffic safety is an important part of the work we do, please watch out for the ones in reflective gear!

Right of Way

City streets are located on CBJ property that is commonly referred to as a Right of Way (ROW). As property owners we should all try to stay within our lines. Before you start a project beyond your property line and/or in the CBJ ROW, always get a permit first by contacting the CBJ Community Development Department at https://juneau.org/community-development.

The ROW gives CBJ crews room to accommodate essential infrastructure, including utilities, signage, streetlights, drainage structures, snow storage and sight distances at intersections.

Drainage

Water runoff from streets and adjacent properties is collected in a network of drains, culverts, and ditches. Stormwater runoff is then routed to the surrounding streams, lakes or to the ocean. It is both environmentally important and key to community health and safety to maintain this infrastructure.

If you have drainage structures (e.g. culverts, ditches or catch basins) in the front, sides and/or the back of your home, be sure to keep them clean from vegetation or foreign objects and debris (also known as FOD) year-round and especially before a storm hits. In poor weather conditions, we all need to do our part to save homes and businesses from damage.

Help Us Help You. Remember; clean water in, clean water out. Pollutants that enter our storm drainage system exit into our environment. https://juneau.org/engineering-public-works/recycleworks-2/hazardous-waste 

Please do not use drainage ditches to dispose of grass clippings or other waste. This can only dam water flow and potentially damage properties. Toys and FOD often plug up culverts resulting in serious damage to homes, businesses, and streets. Helping us keep them clear saves us all money.

We spend a great deal of time each year trying to maintain and improve the drainage network. Much of the material routinely removed from the ditches and drains is suitable for filling lots. Learn more about how CBJ Streets will haul this useful waste material  to you for free! https://juneau.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Waste_Release_Form.pdf

Roadside Vegetation

We are all fortunate enough to live in a green and verdant landscape. But it is possible to have too much of a good thing as the flora encroaches on your city streets.

Vegetative growth can pose serious sight problems for drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists. Our crews are constantly working to maintain the City’s ROW. If necessary, we may cut down obstructing vegetation to maintain safe sight distances and prevent potential damage to CBJ equipment.

Our crew exercise caution in this task. Clearly recognized landscaping is left alone if at all possible.  Crews are told to contact supervisors if there is some question, however, we constantly battle with alders and other indigenous growth along our CBJ systems and crews do not always recognize them as something someone is tending. It is not possible for us to contact all owners regarding work we do in front of their property.

We do appreciate owners who care for their property as they generally help us take care of CBJ property too. However, property owners should refrain from planting or placing obstructions in the ROW. Plantings will most likely be damaged during snow removal in the winter. Hardscape, rocks, benches, fences, etc. will create snow removal hazards and property owners will be asked to remove these items if placed in the CBJ ROW.

Sweeping

Every spring we put forth a vigorous effort to clean up last winter’s sand and debris. For those roads with on-street parking, we need to clear them of all vehicles first. “No Parking” signs are posted 24 hours in advance. Remaining vehicles may be  ticketed and towed . If our crews are unable to safely maneuver around them and towing is not an option, we will skip the street and again try later.

Once the spring cleanup is done, we regularly sweep streets until freeze up. Congestion in the downtown area means we must sweep in the early morning hours. Our operators and laborers work in this area as fast as possible to minimize disruption.

Please pay attention to posted signage when parking downtown at night (year-round). The streets are signed accordingly to allow our sweepers (and plows in the winter) to sweep (and plow) both sides of the streets alternating the side of the street Monday thru Friday.

Surface Repairs

Potholes are always a problem and we are here to help! Let us know where they are with our “Report a Problem” online form and we will fix them. 

https://juneau.org/engineering-public-works/streets/report-a-problem  

For potholes on Alaska DOT  streets, email [email protected]. 

We’ll keep on patching and rebuilding our streets in need as weather and budgets allow. 

We also do preventative maintenance. When you see us crack sealing, fog sealing and chip sealing, that is CBJ actively working to keep our good roads great shape!