Adopt-A-Road Program

Are you interested in giving back to your community? Want to help keep our community clean? Get involved with the Municipality of South Bruce’s Adopt-a-Road program. This program allows community groups and individuals to volunteer and clean up a section of road.

Roadways may be adopted in the name of a business or service club or in honour or memory of an individual. We can erect an Adopt-a-Road sign with your group name and specifications, for a fee.

Sign up for the program

Please complete the Adopt-a-Road Agreement and submit it to the Public Works Department.

Who can participate?

In order to participate in the Adopt-a-Road program, all participants must be at least 12 years of age or older. You need to provide one supervisor who is 19 years or older for every five volunteers between the ages of 12 and 18.

Please appoint an Authorized Representative to act on behalf of the group.  The Authorized Representative shall ensure all participants have reviewed and are familiar with the Safety Guidelines before participating in the clean up of the adopted section of the right-of-way.

What we provide

The Municipality of South Bruce will confirm the right-of-way to be adopted. Upon request, we will also provide volunteers with:

• Safety vests
• Signs to indicate that road work is taking place
• Trash bags
• Safety guidelines for volunteers
• Disposable medical gloves
• Flagging tape and traffic cones
• First aid kit

Once you’ve collected litter, we will:

• Dispose of trash bags that don’t contain recyclable materials
• Remove large, heavy or hazardous items directly from the roadway

Notify the municipality

Contact us at least two business days before you begin the annual pickup. Once you complete the clean-up, please contact us and return all items to the issuing office.

Disposing trash and other items

After you collect litter from the section of road, please drop off all trash bags to one of the following locations:

• Mildmay Public Works shop, 169 Bruce Rd. 3 in Mildmay
• Teeswater Public Works shop, 25 Gordon St. E. in Teeswater

You’ll also need to

• Flag closed containers, heavy objects and hazardous material for collection by the Municipality
• Take any valuable items found during the collection to the local police
• Sort and dispose of recyclable materials as necessary

Safety guidelines

When you are a volunteer with the Adopt-a-Road program, safety is of primary importance, it is imperative that you follow these safety guidelines:

• Always wear a safety vest
• Display the road work sign during clean up
• Carpool to minimize the number of vehicles at the worksite
• Park all vehicles at the worksite as far away as possible from the travelled portion of the road
• Ensure provision of all transportation, supervision, safety equipment and medical/first aid service
• Clean one side of the roadway at a time and always face oncoming traffic
• Pick up litter at least once a year, preferably in the spring
• Pick up litter during daylight hours only
• Flag hazardous and unidentifiable items for pick up by Municipal staff
• Ensure no pets are present at the clean up site
• Avoid any maintenance or construction vehicles
• Avoid water hazards
• Discontinue work in inclement weather
• Remove the road work sign when complete

Please avoid the following actions:

• Walking or picking up litter from the paved shoulder, pavement or median
• Working on bridges, overpasses, steep ground or tunnels
• Touching or picking up hazardous items or anything you can’t identify
• Wearing clothing or materials that may distract drivers
• Using or possessing illegal drugs or alcoholic beverages before or during the clean up
• Stepping or jumping on trash bags

For your own safety, you should:

• Stay mentally alert at all times
• Wear protective footwear and gloves
• Wear light-coloured clothing that covers your arms and legs
• Wear a baseball cap or wide-brimmed hat and sunscreen
• Drink lots of fluids, especially on hot days
• Be aware of any special needs of any volunteers
• Avoid over-exertion
• Avoid hazardous plants and stinging insects
• Keep an adequate supply of trash bags on hand

Disclaimer

Volunteers are not considered as Officers, Employees, or Agents of the Municipality of South Bruce. Any injuries, claims, liabilities, suits, or costs arising from the volunteer activities relating to this program, shall be the sole responsibility of the volunteers. Volunteers shall indemnify the Municipality and agree to abide by the Municipality’s guidelines and to not hold the Municipality responsible for any injuries or damaged that they may cause or suffer as a result of participation in the Adopt-A-Road program.