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General maintenance
The City follows stringent standards to keep routes clear, safe and accessible for all users. Here’s how we do it.
Road resurfacing
The City has an annual program focused on repairing and renewing London roads. By being as proactive as possible, we can extend the life of our roads, saving taxpayer money in the long term.
We regularly examine all major infrastructure within the City, such as roads and bridges, and create a list of priorities for repairs and resurfacing. Wherever possible, crews coordinate this work with necessary underground repairs, such as replacing aging sewers, and scheduled road projects.
Street sweeping
Clearing debris from our streets is a top priority for the City. We strive to maintain high sweeping standards for all areas, and night sweeping is common, to be as efficient as possible. We also target areas where crews used a large amount of sand during the winter season.
Here’s what you can expect on local streets and main roads:
- Local streets: Crews sweep neighbourhood streets usually once a season, but a repeat visit is possible. Local streets will be completed between April 19 to June 17, 2022.
- Main roads: Crews will clean major roads at least three times during the season. However, sidewalks on these roads are usually only swept once. Main streets will be completed between April 19 to June 24, 2022.
- Overnight street sweeping is part of the City's regular street sweeping program.
If you have questions about street sweeping or would like to know when your street will be cleaned next, please contact service@london.ca
Lane maintenance
The City performs some surface work (such as filling potholes) on public lanes when requested by nearby property owners, however the City does not assume full responsibility for maintaining public lanes.
If you’re not sure whether your lane is public or private, please contact Service London by calling 519 661-4570 or emailing service@london.ca. If you know your lane is public, you can request lane maintenance through Service London.
Want to know more?
Frequently asked questions
What is a public lane, and can I make any improvements to it?
Public lanes allow property owners to access the rear or side of their property. While nearby property owners may make improvements, you’re not allowed to block anyone’s access to public lanes.
What is the City’s policy on maintaining public lanes?
The City assumes a limited level of service for public lanes, for practical and budgetary reasons. Lanes are typically narrow, are frequently obstructed and can be challenging to navigate with modern maintenance vehicles. Also, since lanes were never built to any proper standard, maintenance vehicles could cause damage to the lane and adjacent properties. Since there is no room for snow storage, snow would have to be trucked away which is cost-prohibitive. Resources are finite, and the City cannot commit crews to areas where traffic is minimal, such as public lanes.
Who is responsible for maintaining the lane beside my property?
Lane maintenance is the responsibility of the nearby property owners. It is hoped that neighbours will share responsibility for maintenance, however there is no by-law or legal mechanism to enforce cost-sharing arrangements between abutting owners and the City does not get involved in such matters.
What kinds of lane improvements are allowed?
The City has no concerns about property owners performing routine maintenance on a lane such as grading, tree and shrub trimming and snow ploughing to ensure a lane remains passable, but major improvements including the removal of trees or paving require the City's consent. The installation of drainage works including dry wells is prohibited. A Permit for Approved Works may be required for substantial improvements such as paving.
Sidewalk repairs
As part of the City’s efforts to keep all 1,500 km of our sidewalks in good condition, crews are continually repairing surface cracks, unevenness and other minor sidewalk and gutter issues.
Before any repair, the City will attach a notice to your door informing you when and where a repair will occur in your neighbourhood.
Want to know more?
Frequently asked questions
What happens if my fence, sprinkler system or landscaping conflicts with a City sidewalk that is being repaired?
The City requests that you remove these objects. The City is not responsible for any damage to them during sidewalk repair.
What happens if my driveway becomes unavailable during sidewalk repairs? Where should I park?
If your driveway becomes unavailable during sidewalk repairs, you can put the sidewalk repair notice in your front window when you park your car in the street. This means that parking enforcement will not ticket your vehicle. (Note that this notice doesn’t mean you can park your car in a no-parking zone.)
What happens if crews damage my property during sidewalk repairs?
The City will fix any damage to your property as soon as possible.
How long do sidewalk repairs take?
Sidewalk repairs take between one to three weeks.
Why are there paint markings on my lawn?
Paint markings are used to identify underground utilities.
Street light repairs
As part of keeping the City's street lights in good condition, we replace them proactively. Our team splits the City into five zones, and each year; crews replace all the bulbs in a certain zone. This approach helps save valuable taxpayer dollars.
Report a street light that is damaged or not working
Street light repair standards
The standards that the City uses to repair street lights are based on provincial guidelines and listed below:
- The City will repair street lights if three or more consecutive lights have stopped working or more than 30 per cent of the lights per kilometre are out. This process will take a maximum of seven days on major streets (such as Highbury Avenue or Southdale Road) and a maximum of 14 days on minor streets (such as Dufferin Avenue and Tweedsmuir Avenue.)
- The City will repair all other street lights within 28 days unless the outage is part of the current year’s replacement zone.
Please note: the time it takes to repair a street light is based upon when our team becomes aware of the outage. We are not automatically notified when a street light stops working.
Last modified:Friday, April 01, 2022