Obtain a list of the streets for which the city requires street sweeping. You should be able to obtain this from the city manager's office or the municipality's department of public works. Generally, multiply every mile of street by two, because there are typically two curbs, one on each side of the street. For example, if the city has 10 miles of streets, there may be 20 curb miles. However, there may be some exceptions that will reduce or increase the number of calculated curb miles, so you need to ask the city about specific requirements before you drive each street to measure the distances.
Ask whether the city wants you to clean intersections, so you will know whether you need to include this distance when calculating curb miles. Debris usually does not accumulate as much in intersections as against curbs, because the wind tends to blow it away, so cities sometimes don't want you to sweep their intersections.
Ask what the city's sweeping width requirement is. Typically, most debris is within 3 ft. of the curb, and is handled by normal street sweeping equipment. If the city has special environmental regulations, it may require you to make a double-pass on each side of the street. Define the term "curb mile" according to the city's requirements. For example, on a given stretch of street, if two passes are required on each side, one mile of street in this area equals four curb miles.
Find out whether the city wants you to sweep both sides of a street that has curbing on one side only. Typically a street side with no curbing will not accumulate debris, because the wind blows it away, so the city may not want this included in your service. Also ask how the city wants you to treat special curbing situations, such as a length of curb on a divider for a left-turn lane, or a small raised area with curbing in the middle of an intersection that supports a traffic signal, which you may have to sweep by hand, with a flag and a lookout person to help keep your workers safe from traffic.
Drive each street on the list provided by the city, and use an odometer or GPS system to track the number of curb miles you need to clean, based on definitions you agreed on about what areas need cleaning and what constitutes a curb mile.
Determine how often street sweeping must be done, such as once a week or once a month. Multiply the curb miles by the frequency of cleaning to get total curb miles for a given period, which is often expressed in annual terms when billing a city for the work. For example, if you determine that there are 16 curb miles to be cleaned once a week, multiply 16 by 52 to get 832 total curb miles to be cleaned for the year.