At long last spring is upon us! While we wait for the ground to thaw and trees to bud, the NDHA will be working behind the scenes with our ULS team, preparing for the start of another busy growing season. As weather dictates, our priority will shift away from pathway snow clearing and toward spring clean-up of the greenspaces, medians, and boulevards.
Bristles: An unfortunate and unavoidable consequence of our pedestrian safety requirement to clean pathways to bare pavement is that bristles are shed from the brush attachment during snow clearing operations. The NDHA requires ULS to clean up visible bristles on a regular basis throughout the winter. As the snow melts, there is no doubt that more and more of the lost bristles will be revealed. Please know that we are “on it”, and that ULS will do a thorough deep clean of the bristles during their spring clean up measures.
Street Sweeping: The City of Calgary is planning to launch street sweeping in mid-April. Discovery Ridge is scheduled for Monday, May 6th, weather permitting. Please access the City of Calgary website for updates or to sign up for their “Street Sweeping Service Alert”, which will notify you via email or text. Please note the following:
- City crews will sweep in neighborhoods Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- There will be no sweeping on Statutory Holidays
- Watch for signs in the community indicating when your street is scheduled for clean-up.
- Parking bans are in place when signs are present. Vehicles are subject to be ticketed and towed. Remove vehicles and bins from the road on the posted dates and times.
The NDHA will work with ULS to ensure they have completed the median and boulevard cleanup prior to the City of Calgary carrying out street sweeping operations in our neighborhood.
Black Knot Tree Fungus – Please Prune It Out! If you look at your trees right now and you see a dark, lumpy mass clinging to any of the branches, you probably have a tree infested with Black Knot Fungus. This fungus affects Mayday, Chokecherry and other stone fruit trees, and is endemic to Calgary. For the long-term survival of your infected tree, it is best to have it pruned out. Black Knot Fungus is spread by spores from within the lumpy mass; specific procedures when pruning must be followed to reduce further contamination. DO NOT place affected limbs in your compost bin.
Pruning while the tree is dormant (no leaves), is best for success. The City of Calgary prunes Black Knot Fungus from trees on public property within our community; please help to control this blight and potentially save your own tree(s) by doing the same. Consider your safety; hiring a professional certified arborist may be the best plan but they book up quickly. You should make contact soon to reserve your appointment. More information on Black Knot can be found on the City’s website under “City of Calgary – Black Knot Fungus”.
Yard Cleanup & Garbage Bins: Once the snow is gone and we truly break into spring, many of our residents begin cleaning up their own yards in preparation for the growing season. It is always surprising how much garbage and other debris can be collected after a long winter! The NDHA requests that residents use their own green/blue/black bins to dispose of waste from your household and property. We have had instances in the past where community garbage bins were inappropriately used for the disposal of large cardboard, Styrofoam, plastics, etc. This is called “illegal dumping”, and you can be fined. The city empties public trash bins only a few times a month, so please use them as intended so that all of us can benefit from their convenience. If you find a full or overflowing bin, call 311 to have it emptied.
We are always happy to hear from our NDHA members; please access our website at ndha.ca for NDHA News updates or to send an email – you can also call us at 403-237-9595.