City officials on Tuesday unveiled a street-sweeping vehicle that they say will give workers a new and more efficient way to clear debris from Boston’s narrow neighborhood streets.
The Public Works Department rolled out the Ravo sweeper on the first day of street cleaning for 2016. The Ravo, which is smaller than typical sweepers, made its first appearance on Hanover Street in the North End.
The neighborhood, with its famously tight streets, is one of a handful where street sweeping begins in March, as it does in the South End and Beacon Hill.
Sweeping normally starts in most other areas of the city in April, but this year residents may see the Ravo ahead of time, according to the city’s interim public works commissioner, Mike Dennehy.
“It’s an advantageous piece of equipment,” Dennehy said. “It can get into areas between cars or places where sweeping hasn’t started yet. We see it as beneficial.”
The sweeper sizes up at 8½ feet in width, which is smaller than the typical Pelican models, Dennehy said.
Despite its size, he said, it has a larger capacity to hold debris.
Having a Ravo on hand is expected to help cleanup efforts, he said.
“It makes us more resilient,” the commissioner said. “We can get into places where more manual work had to be done.”
Mina Corpuz can be reached at mina.corpuz@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @mlcorpuz.