EVANSTON, IL - Elevating the experience for those visiting downtown Evanston and the city’s neighborhood business districts, the City of Evanston today announced the launch of the “Streetplus Evanston Clean Team” to provide enhanced cleaning, maintenance and landscaping services in retail areas across the city.

Beginning Monday, November 14, Evanston community members will see uniformed Clean Team members working in priority areas throughout Evanston, including downtown Evanston, Main Street (Maple to Hinman Avenues) and Howard Street (CTA tracks to Ridge Avenue). Secondary focus areas will include Church Street and Dodge Avenue, Dempster Street (Hinman to Elmwood Avenues), and Central Street (Eastwood to Hartrey Avenues).

“Ensuring Evanston’s unique and vibrant retail districts are clean and welcoming is essential not only for our small businesses, but for our citywide economic recovery,” said Economic Development Manager Paul Zalmezak. “The Streetplus Evanston Clean Team will be a visible, friendly presence in our core downtown business area and neighborhood business districts, working in partnership with business owners, community members, and special service area representatives to make our city shine.”

The Evanston City Council approved a contract with Streetplus in September to implement and manage the cleaning and maintenance program. The initiative is funded by City of Evanston American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.

The Streetplus Evanston Clean Team will be on the street Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and after-hours and weekends for special events. Tasks the team will focus on include:

Outdoor furniture maintenance
Graffiti, sticker and signage removal
Litter cleanup and trash removal
Garbage can cleaning
Landscape bed maintenance
Spot cleaning / pressure washing
Seasonal snow removal at crosswalks
Clean Team members will also be able to quickly identify and report larger maintenance and repair issues to Evanston 311 so that City crews can address them.

Services handled by the Streetplus Evanston Clean Team will provide City staff with increased capacity to focus on other City issues and services, such as tree trimming and infrastructure maintenance, and allow special service areas, such as Downtown Evanston, to prioritize marketing, business retention, promotion, and special event efforts.

The Clean Team will maintain a physical office space at the Church Street self-park garage, located at 525 Church St.

Community members should continue to report City issues, including cleaning and maintenance issues, to Evanston 311 by calling/texting 847-448-4311 or simply dialing 311 in Evanston.