DENVER -- It's not always easy to remember when the street sweeper is due.

Just ask Crystal Candela. She received a ticket Tuesday morning.

"It's very stressful," Candela told 7NEWS. "I struggle with money already."

Candela was among numerous residents who didn't heed the "No parking on the 2nd Tuesday of the month" sign in her west Denver neighborhood.

"If you don't move your car, we can't get the dirt and trash out of the street," said public works intern Emily Williams. "That dirt will eventually end up in the South Platte (River) or in the air."

Operations Supervisor Brian Nieto said debris can also be a safety issue. He pointed to recent flooding at Leetsdale and Oneida.

"It clogs up storm drains," Nieto said. "So wastewater crews try to clean them and we try to remove the surface material and debris. With vehicles in the way, we can't sweep under them."

"Denver Public Works doesn't want to issue tickets," Williams said. "Issuing as many tickets as we can doesn't get the street clean."

Williams is touting a new program designed to educate the public about the link between street sweeping and clean air and water.

She and the interns involved use an old sweeper that was picked out of the “boneyard,” and wrapped with environmental green signage.

They take the sweeper to public events and talk about the environment and the need to cooperate with street sweepers.

She said the program called "Show Your Pride, Move Your Ride" can actually lead to a decrease in parking tickets.

"All you have to do is sign up at KeepItCleanDenver.org," Williams said. "They will send you an e-mail the night before or the day of your street sweeping, reminding you to go out and move your car."

"I think that would be helpful to people," Candela said. "It would have helped me."

"That would give me time to know where to move my car," said Vee Smith, shortly after a street sweeper made a snake-like turn around her car near 10th and Hazel Tuesday afternoon.

Smith, who didn’t get a ticket, said she didn’t live on that block, she just worked there.

When asked if she’d sign up for the e-mail reminders, Smith said, “I will if I know where to sign up.”

Nieto said that the city’s 26 sweepers pick up enough dirt every year to fill Coors Field about 7 to 9 feet deep.

If you want to sign up, go to KeepItCleanDenver.org