MOWING ROUTES
Parks that have activities that require more frequent maintenance such as large special events, and/or programmed soccer, softball or other sports are mowed more frequently. Community and Area parks that have these activities are mowed closer to every 10 days on the 10-14 day cycle. Smaller neighborhood parks and playlots that have fewer programmed park events are mowed closer to every 14 days. This is simply a function of using the staff in the most effective and economical way.
In the best of conditions, mowing routes are every 10-14 days. The routes are comprised of two crews: large mower crews and the trimming route crews. The equipment must first be transported to the park site. The large mowers are 16' and can mow the large open spaces quickly. The trimming route crews will typically follow and mow the smaller and tighter areas in the park. The goal is to have the large mowing crew and the trimming crew overlap in the same park on the same day. However, on occasion, this may be as long as 3 days depending on weather conditions, equipment availability or special event/athletic field preparation requirements.
Mowing routes do differ from early spring to the summer months. Grass and dandelions grow quickly in the early spring with the warmer temperatures and typically wet conditions. During this period of rapid growth in the early spring, there are approximately 25 employees dedicated to mowing and other maintenance duties for the 270 parks. Approximately 75 additional summer seasonal employees join our staff in late May through late August. Once the additional employees are hired and trained, the mowing cycle may be closer to 7-10 days.
