Chicagoans, be on the lookout, because street sweeping season is under way from April through October or November, depending on the schedule for certain areas. The city posts parking restriction signs the day before the scheduled sweep and issues $50 tickets to owners who fail to move their cars. Some areas have permanent signs notifying residents of parking restrictions for street sweeping.

From January though August 2009, there were 191,901 tickets issued for the violation, according to the city's Department of Revenue. For the entire year of 2008, there were 348,210 tickets issued due to street cleaning.

Greg Bukowski, 32, has gotten more than one of those tickets. "I parked at night and just didn't see the sign," said Bukowski, a construction business owner who lives in Old Town. Another time he didn't go to his car parked on the street for days and when he checked on his car he found a ticket.

Every time he saw a ticket, his stomach sank, he said: "It ruins the rest of your day."

So he created stopparkingtickets.com last summer and now counts more than 100 customers getting e-mails 24 hours ahead of time and text alerts as reminders the morning of the sweep.

The sites duplicate information the city provides for free, said Matt Smith, spokesman for the Streets and Sanitation Department. The city puts up signs and posts its street cleaning schedule online at cityofchicago.org, he said in an e-mail. The same information can be found by calling 3-1-1 or ward offices, he said.

The website creators say the disposable signs the city posts can be flimsy--sometimes falling off trees, they say--and their service is beneficial to drivers who park on city streets, especially those who might not use their cars every day.

Joel Guy, 28, launched stopthebroomnow.com two weeks ago. So far, roughly 20 people signed up for the $8 yearly subscription to get e-mail and text alerts 24 hours and 48 hours in advance of scheduled sweeps.

"I feel like it's another tax you have to pay if you're a car owner in Chicago," said Guy, who lives in Logan Square. "When I walk out and see a ticket, I feel like I've been ripped off by the city."