Maintenance

The city and private property holders each have their own responsibilities in street maintenance.  

The property holder must take care of the cleanliness of the street throughout the year. 

The property holder 

• keeps clean the entire street section adjacent to their plot – from the plot boundary to the centre line of the street. Removes from the street and pavement rubbish and loose objects such as glass fragments and autumn leaves. 
• ensures that the vegetation of the ditch and green area bordering on the plot remains tidy up to a maximum of three metres from the plot boundary. 

The city 

• is responsible for the structural maintenance of fairways. For example, the city implements repairs to broken street surfaces and dust binding on the street's carriageways 
• maintains plants, street fixtures, kurbs, safety rails, traffic signs and other similar equipment 
• keeps clean the street’s green strip. 

Winter maintenance 

Winter care includes removal of snow, antiskid treatment and removal of gritting. As a rule, the city is responsible for winter maintenance of the roads and of pedestrian and bicycle routes. The property holder is responsible for winter maintenance of the pavement adjacent to their plot and of their own driveway. The property holder must also keep clear of rubbish throughout the year the area stretching from the pavement adjacent to their property to the centre line of the carriageway. 

Winter maintenance tasks of the property holder 

1. Removing snow and ice from the pavement 

The property holder's task is to keep accessible the pavement next to their property by removing snow and ice that obstructs pedestrians. 

2. Antiskid treatment on pavements 

The property holder is responsible for preventing slippery conditions on the pavement adjacent to their property and for removing gritting from the pavement in the spring. 

3. Removing snow banks 

When necessary, the property holder removes any banks of snow that have accumulated on or next to the pavement. The snow must not be piled on the street or in a public area, but must be transported either onto one’s own property or to a snow dump. 

4. Gutter maintenance 

It is the property holder's responsibility to keep the gutter and rainwater channel next to the pavement free of snow and ice. 

5. Removal of snow walls from the driveway 

The property holder takes care of the maintenance of the driveway leading to their property. If a snow wall has accumulated in front of the driveway, the property holder is responsible for clearing the passage. The driveway must be maintained right from its interface with the edge of the carriageway. 

6. Covered drains 

The property holder makes sure that the covered drain is kept open and the drain pipe is in working condition. 

7. Removal of gritting material in the spring 

The removal of gritting material in the spring is part of winter maintenance tasks. The property holder must collect from the pavement adjacent to their property the grit they have spread there during the winter. The spread of dust must be prevented by measures such as wetting beforehand the area to be cleaned. Air quality problems are also alleviated by the rapid removal of grit. Environmental protection regulations prohibit the use of a leaf blower for clearing grit. In addition, grit must not be swept into rain water gullies. 

Clearing snow from roofs 

Clearing snow from roofs requires a street permit for street surveillance. 

The city’s winter maintenance tasks 

1. Snowploughing of carriageways and antiskid treatment 

The city takes care of winter maintenance of street carriageways in accordance with the street’s maintenance category. Class I main roads are ploughed first, then Class II collector roads, then Class III residential streets. 

2. Winter maintenance of markets and squares 

The city is responsible for the winter maintenance of markets and squares and of city-owned properties. 

3. Winter maintenance of bicycle paths 

The city is responsible for winter maintenance of combined and parallel pedestrian and bicycle paths in accordance with their maintenance category (A+, A and B-class routes, further information available on the ‘street maintenance categories’ page). If, for example, there is a vegetation strip between the pedestrian path and bicycle path, such as on Puutarhakatu St, the winter maintenance of the bicycle path belongs to the city and the winter maintenance of the pavement belongs to the property owner or holder. 

4. Pavements by public spaces 

The city is responsible for winter maintenance of public spaces such as green areas, markets and squares. Tampereen Tilakeskus is responsible for winter maintenance of the pavements adjacent to city-owned properties. 

5. Winter maintenance of pavements in areas of detached housing 

The city manages the winter maintenance of pavements in several areas of detached housing. 

6. Removal of gritting from streets, pavements and bicycle paths 

The city clears away the grit from the routes and areas for which it carries out winter maintenance. 

Responsibility for maintenance of stop shelters 

The property holder takes care of winter maintenance and year-round cleaning of the ground within public transport stop shelters. If the city is the owner of the plot adjacent to the stop, winter maintenance is handled by Tampereen Tilakeskus. If the stop is next to a private plot, the property holder is responsible for winter maintenance. The city is responsible for the condition of the public transport stop structures and for the emptying of waste containers. 

Winter maintenance surveys and feedback