GPS Units Installed in Plows, Stow Considering Snow Removal Ordinance

How many times have you heard this? "The plows haven't been down my street in days!"

By next winter, residents will be able to see exactly where Stow's plows have been since GPS units have been installed in the trucks. 

Assistant Service Director Mike Miller said although the online feature is not available yet, the city plans to put an interactive map on its website to see where the trucks have been and where they are going.

"The GPS units will also give drivers the ability to view where they've been instead of calling back in," said Miller.

Eventually, Miller said the service department hopes to be able to use the units to track exactly how much salt and brine is used by each truck when it's out.

Click to see how much the city has spent on this year's winter.

Also in snow-related news, City Council is considering an ordinance that would penalize residents for clearing snow out into the street.

Service Director Dano Koehler said pushing snow into the streets is dangerous for plows.

"It's not just snow,  it's an obstruction that could cause potential harm when it freezes," he said. "On Kenneth Trail there's a block of ice that moved about 40 feet down the road because it started as a piece of snow that was pushed out of a driveway and turned to ice."

Administrators are considering first giving a warning to residents when they push snow into the street. After that, a minor misdemeanor citation would be made, if passed.

"I would say our experience in most cases when we give people a written notice to stop practice, they normally respond to it," said Koehler. "In the event that it does result in an accident, we'll be asked 'why isn’t the city doing something about that?' The answer is, right now we don’t have the teeth to do much of anything."

Miller said the service department has only written "a few" notices this and last year.

"We don’t go out seeking these things, but when my drivers start to complain, I know it’s pretty bad," said Koehler. "We've had more problems this year because of constant snowing without a lot of thawing."

Council is still considering the proposal. The next meeting is March 21 at .