Roadside Vegetation Management

Roadside Mowing Program

Agriculture Services initiates the Roadside Mowing Program during the month of June, weather permitting. Parkland County has four mowers and will conduct a minimum of one 15 foot pass on most roads as long as they are accessible and not too steep for our equipment.

We may mow additional areas depending on the growing season and weather. The collector roads may be given priority and mowed more than once per season for safety reasons as a result of high traffic volumes.

Please ensure that all signs without a permit located within the County road allowances are removed prior to the start of the Roadside Mowing Program.  Parkland County will remove and dispose of any unpermitted signs that are left within the road allowance.

Roadside Spraying

Parkland County Agricultural Services Department sprays roadsides within the county starting in late May and until mid/late September, depending on weather conditions and length of growing season. The County also uses spot herbicide applications and other integrated management practices to control weeds and brush.

Spraying of roadsides is done to control the spread of noxious weeds and re-growth of small brush. Most weed species are very prolific seed producers and can produce as many as 300,000 seeds per plant. These seeds can then germinate the following growing season or lay dormant in the soil for a number of years until growing conditions are favorable for germination. Many deep rooted perennials spread via the root system, therefore a single plant left alone can result in a heavy infestation in a relatively short period of time.

Click HERE for information regarding the herbicides that will be used for the current season.

Some of these herbicides have residual characteristics, so ratepayers should use caution when using roadside soil or plant material in garden and crop areas.

Weed infestations can invade and become the dominant plant species on any given parcel of land causing a number of problems:

• they limit light and moisture availability to cereal and hay crops thus reducing yields and resulting in dockage
• responsible for livestock poisoning  
• the obstruction of visibility along roadsides and intersections
• roads tend to retain moisture longer requiring more maintenance
• creates a snow removal problem

No Spray Agreement

A “No Spray” area is defined as a section of municipal road right-of-way which would normally be maintained under the regular roadside spraying program but which has been requested by a ratepayer not to be sprayed. The ratepayer becomes responsible for weed and brush control in the designated areas, as defined by the “No Spray Agreement”.

If you would like to participate in the “No Spray” program, you will be required to sign a “No Spray Agreement” along with a map highlighting the portion of the County road allowance you do not want to be sprayed under the County’s regular Roadside Vegetation Management Program. By participating in the No Spray Program, you assume responsibility for vegetation control in the designated area, including prohibited noxious and noxious weeds as listed in the Alberta Weed Control Act, brush and sweet clover.

Please click HERE for information about the program or contact Agriculture Services at 780-968-8467.

Please click here to view a sample of how to fill out a No Spray Agreement.
Please click here to view a sample of a blank No Spray Agreement.
Please click here to view a sample of a map.