Page 14 - Vol40 No3 Sept-Oct2022

KNOXVILLE By Lisa Hood Skinner
Colorful Bike Lane Sweeper: Turning

Heads, Cleaning Public Spaces

She’s a sleek little thing, zipping up integrated into the steering wheel, a quick- of Knoxville Fleet Services and Public
and down the bike lanes of Downtown start button, individual brush control Service Departments.
Knoxville and around Market Square. with optional angle adjustment, hydro- “We thought the wraps would be
Wearing colorful graphic images around pneumatic suspension on both axles, worthwhile because of the highly visible
her middle, she makes bystanders stop independent front-wheel suspension, and role that the sweeper will play,” he said.
and stare. an all-wheel steering system. And it can “The wraps are a graphic way to help
Nope, she’s not one of the city’s frequent go a brisk 37 miles an hour at maximum answer questions and to communicate
bicyclists, she’s a KARCHER Bike Lane speed. about the services the city provides with
Sweeper MC250, part of the City of the unit.”
Knoxville’s fleet of sanitation vehicles. Colorful Wraps Depict Market Square, Before they “took it to the streets,”
Bicyclists Public Service crews completed initial
She’s Quite a Head-Turner Bradshaw said the colorful custom daylong operator training with a
“It’s a pretty unusual machine and image wraps on either side of the sweeper representative from the manufacturer, and
draws a lot of attention,” said Nicholas “represent its dual functions – sweeping in the future, they’ll complete refresher
Bradshaw, Director of Fleet Services for bike lanes and cleaning downtown. SGP trainings every couple of years. Fleet
the City of Knoxville. “We’re very excited Customs in Knoxville was the local technicians went through specialized
to put this new fleet asset in service vendor. The design was a collaborative training to help keep the new asset in top
to keep our protected bike lanes and effort between the vendor and the City operating condition.
downtown areas clean.”
The public probably hasn’t seen
anything like this before, because the
City of Knoxville is the first city in the
U.S. to purchase the MC250 to maintain
their community’s bike lanes, according
to Armando Donan, KARCHER Product
Support Rep. The futuristic design of this
handy piece of equipment is eye-catching,
but its purpose enhances Knoxville’s goal
of being a more bike-friendly destination.
“In the past, Knoxville’s bike lanes
were maintained by traditional street
sweepers,” Bradshaw said. “However, with
the movement toward protected bike
lanes with barriers that are not conducive
to large vehicles, it became necessary to
invest in a fleet asset that is more suited to
the task. “
Flexible in Tight Spaces, Narrow Bike
Lanes
He said the bike lane sweeper brings
“greater maneuverability and a smaller
profile to more effectively service these
protected bike lanes, as well as many
other tight spaces in the downtown area. I
expect it will have a significant presence in
Market Square as well as other downtown
areas keeping our alleys, gathering places,
and other public spaces beautiful and
clean.”
Its “bells and whistles” include a large
comfort cab for two people, a display
14 TPW September/October 2022