How this adorable little electric mini-street sweeper will enable protected bike lanes
Protected bike lanes — or cycling paths that are physically separated from roadways to keep cars away from more vulnerable micromobility vehicles — are becoming increasingly demanded by a growing population of bike commuters in the US. And in one case, they’re finally being enabled by a surprising source: a cute little electric mini-street sweeper.
The pint-sized electric maintenance vehicle, known as a Westvac LS125, was the last piece of the puzzle missing for Ann Arbor, Michigan’s protected bike lane plan.
The city has hoped to create more protected bike lanes along its roadways by installing bollards or vertical separators. But the narrow lanes would have been too small for the city’s maintenance vehicles to navigate.
Bike lanes, like roadways, require frequent street sweeping to rid them of dangerous debris and obstacles. In fact, such maintenance is perhaps even more critical on paths used by two-wheeled vehicles.
The City Council voted unanimously this week to buy an approximately $250,000 electric mini-sweeper that would enable the city to finally install separators along bike lanes while still maintaining the road surface.
As Council Member Dharma Akmon explained to Michigan Live:
“The purchase is going to allow us to maintain the single-track bike lanes, and that has been an impediment to the installation of bollards. So, very quickly we’re going to be able to put bollards where there aren’t any.”
The 48″ wide (122 cm) mini-sweeper might not be fast at just 15 mph (25 km/h), but it’s built for work — not for speed.
The 62 kWh battery gives it a 9-hour operating time. That means it can work all day, then recharge at night with a standard J1772 connector for Level 2 EV chargers.
The city’s public works manager Molly Maciejewski described how the city’s recently installed bike lanes have suffered from constant encroachment by cars and trucks:
“Since installation, there have been issues with illegal access by vehicles in the bikeways. To combat this issue, the Downtown Development Authority wishes to install centerline delineators along the bikeways. Additionally, the city desires to install bikeways outside of the downtown that are narrower than 10 feet in width.”
As Akmon continued, the new mini-street sweeper is all that was preventing the city from moving forward with its current plan to create the separated bike lines that would keep cars away from bikes, scooters and other micromobility vehicles and their operators:
“In fact, the city has already laid out many of these dedicated lanes, but hasn’t been able to install the delineators because we don’t have the equipment to properly maintain the narrower lanes. The purchase of a new small sweeper will mean we can, in pretty short order, upgrade buffered bike lanes into protected bike lanes by installing the several hundred vertical delineators we already have in inventory and ready for deployment.”
Electric full-size street sweepers exist, but despite their more environmentally friendly design, they are still too wide to fit in most bike lanes.
That’s why miniature versions are critical for being able to carve off sections of roadways for bikes while still leaving access to maintain the quality of the road.
Electrek’s Take
I know it’s a fairly specific niche, but I’m already quite a fan of miniature electric maintenance equipment.
And so if my two passions of biking and mini e-machines can somehow be intertwined into a solution that benefits everyone, well that sounds like a perfect day to me.
When Ann Arbor gets their cute new mini-sweeper in, I’d love to have a go on it!
In all seriousness though, it’s great to see cities finding creative solutions for embracing safer cycling infrastructure. The fact that those solutions themselves are zero-emissions simply makes the whole thing even sweeter.
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Environment
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Tesla has started offering leases of certified pre-owned cars, which is relatively rare in the industry, with $0 down as it desperately tries to move vehicles before the end of the quarter.
With the federal tax credit for electric vehicles set to expire at the end of the quarter, automakers in the US are all trying to optimize EV sales, as demand is being pulled forward.
This also applies to used EVs, as the $4,000 federal incentive for used electric vehicles will also expire on September 30th.
Now, leasing used vehicles is much less common than leasing new cars, but some automakers, or mainly dealers, do offer it.
Tesla is getting into this business for the first time.
In California and Texas, Tesla is now offering leases on certified pre-owned (aka used) Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.
These are reasonably priced and can be as low as $215 per month with $0 down for a 24-month lease and 10,000 miles per year.
Tesla also offers a 12-month lease and up to 15,000 miles annually. While there’s no down payment needed, there’s an “Acquisition Fee” of $695.
That, and the first month, is all you need to get in a used Tesla for the next year or two.
This is undoubtedly the cheapest way to get into a Tesla vehicle right now.
Tesla is trying to sell as many vehicles as possible in the US this quarter, as demand for EVs has been pulled forward due to the end of the tax credit. This is expected to result in a record quarter in the US, but it also going to create a few difficult ones in the future.
With demand being pulled forward and future buyers feeling like they missed out on EV discounts, the US EV market is expected to experience a significant slowdown over the next 12 to 18 months.
Tesla sales are down about 13% globally so far this year. While this quarter is expected to be better, many analysts still anticipate Tesla’s year-over-year performance to be down.
This year alone, Tesla added more than 50,000 electric vehicles to its inventory.
Used cars have also been piling up.
Tesla owners rushed to sell their vehicles as Tesla’s brand perception dived following its CEO’s involvement in politics.
We previously reported that the average used Tesla sale price has recently dipped below the overall average used car sale price in the US.
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Danish equipment makers HG build job site dumpers that help move sand, rocks, debris, construction waste, and building supplies across rugged, uneven urban job sites. And with the introduction of their newest E3000 model, they’re helping move more than three tons of that stuff without emissions and — just as crucially — without noise.
HG announced the E3000 electric site dumper just this week, adding the new 3 tonne capacity to its growing lineup of 1 and 2 tonne dumpers (that’s over 6,600 lbs., in “landed on the Moon” units). With a 180° swivel tip on the bucket as standard equipment and an optional high tip version available at launch, it should be able to handle just about anything a hard working construction crew can throw at it.
“With the HG E3000, we once again prove that electric dumpers are not only better for people and the environment. They are also more efficient, cheaper to operate, and can run more than a full working day on a single charge,” explains Nikolaj Birkerod, CEO of HG, told Power Progress. “With 3 tonne dumpers, we are proving, as we already have with 2 tonne dumpers, that we can deliver on both performance and reliability while enabling customers to save 15% per operating hour compared to a diesel dumper.”
Exact specs haven’t been released, but HG claims the E3000’s 29 kWh is good for 12 full hours of continuous, loaded operation, and that it can be fully recharged on a “standard” 220 charger (L2) in about four hours. If you’re curious about what has been released, I’ve got all that for you right here:
The only all-electric dumper on the market that gives you 12 working hours while carrying 3 tonnes payload.
Our latest addition to accelerate 100% machinery:
- 3-ton payload for high-capacity material handling
- 12-hour working – a full day’s work without recharging
- Optional high tip for quick and flexible unloading into containers and trucks
- 180° swivel tip as standard for precise placement of loads
- Fast charging: 0–100% in approx. 4 hours with the integrated charger
- Lithium 29 kWh battery with automatic heating for all-season use
- One-pedal drive for smooth and intuitive operation
The E3000 is built for contractors and rental companies who demand maximum productivity without compromising on environmental responsibility.
With a carrying capacity of 3 tonnes and an industry-leading 12 hours of effective runtime on a single charge, it’s proof that heavy-duty work and zero emissions can go hand in hand.
At the heart of the E3000 is HG’s patented articulated drivetrain with four independent in-wheel motors. This unique design delivers the most energy-efficient power transfer in the industry, using significantly less power than conventional electric system. This translates directly into lower operating costs and more hours on site between charges.
No word yet on pricing or whether or not the new dumper will eventually be sold outside the European market, but we do know that HG plans to deliver the first examples of its new machine to customers by early 2026.
Electrek’s Take
While there are a lot of people outside the urban construction space who may scoff at environmental concerns, the quest for improved efficiency and cost reduction among commercial fleet managers knows no political ideology. Add in more restrictive noise regulations and the side benefits of improved job site safety and fewer sick days, and electric equipment is a no-brainer.
Simply put: If it’s better or cheaper, fleets will buy it. If it’s better and cheaper, they’ll buy two — and battery powered equipment is proving to be consistently better, in a broader scope of use cases, than diesel.
SOURCES | IMAGES: HG Machines, Power Progress.
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