The city of St. Louis debuted the newest vehicle in the Street Department’s fleet Monday morning — Archie, a compact street sweeper dedicated to keeping bike lanes free of debris.
Its driver? None other than Mayor Cara Spencer.
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Spencer took the wheel of the Green Machine 636 for its inaugural outing, a demonstration on the separated bike lane that runs alongside Scott Avenue in Downtown West. She was joined by city employees and members of the news media.
According to a news release from the city, Archie includes a sweeper and vacuum to knock debris off paths or pick it up entirely. The vehicle has a sweeping width starting at 5 feet, which is the minimum recommended width for a separated bike lane in the city. It cost the city $150,400.
Public safety has been a key emphasis both in the early days of Spencer’s mayoral term. Following a record-setting year for pedestrian deaths, and inspired by her own experience as an avid cyclist, Spencer has supported infrastructure improvements to ensure safer streets, building on the pedestrian- and bike-friendly improvements the city greenlit prior to her election.
Spencer sees the bike lane sweeper as a necessary step in ensuring that both expanded and existing infrastructure is properly maintained. The city lacked a tool to reliably keep separated bike lanes clear prior to acquiring Archie, as the lanes generally cannot be reached by traditional street sweepers.
“This is so important, because our cyclists are going through our protected bike lanes, and you get broken glass, debris, rocks, or any number of things that can obstruct your path,” Spencer says. “It can be not only uncomfortable but really pretty dangerous.”
Spencer’s words were echoed by Alderwoman Anne Schweitzer and Alderman Michael Browning, who helped pass funding for Archie through the Board of Aldermen.
“It’s got to be a priority,” says Browning. “Just as we keep our car lanes free of debris, or at least try to, we need to try to keep our bike lanes free as well.”
Schweitzer agrees, saying that citizen concern for bike lane maintenance helped prompt the city to act.
“One of the most important things we hear from residents is that they want their city to not only build this bike infrastructure, but maintain it,” Schweitzer says. “Keeping it clean is such an important part of that.”
So, when will Archie actually be out on the streets? While a formal schedule is still in the works, the city says the sweeper will be used by request as it experiments more with the vehicle’s daily use capabilities.
“We have over 100 miles of bike paths and protected bike lanes in the city,” she says. “We’re going to see how well we’re able to utilize this and what kind of need we have, but I think this is a really great start.”
Word of Archie’s arrival is already spreading around City Hall. Sean Hadley, a Street Department representative, says the city’s Parks Department has already expressed interest in using Archie to help maintain dedicated bike paths in some of St. Louis’ larger parks.
