Thanks to all of our employees who worked the entire evening making sure our roads are clear of snow. They did a great job!
Some info- why plows block driveways
SNOW UPDATES and WHY DO SNOW CREWS BLOCK DRIVEWAYS?
In a collaborative effort between the Bureau of Highway, Bureau of Sanitation, Water Department and Parks and Recreation, there were over 40 Town plow trucks on the road tonight. Each one with an assigned route to cover. The Town Bureau of Equipment Repair (ERB) was also on hand repairing the plow trucks as needed and placing tire chains on Greenburgh Police and Ambulance vehicles. They worked all night. At 2 AM the Repair Bureau, for example, repaired a plow and returned it back to service.
In addition, Town Building Maintenance and Parks and Recreation personnel were out clearing Town Parking Lots and public sidewalks throughout the night.
WHY DO SNOW CREWS BLOCK DRIVEWAYS?
Last night our Public Works department worked round the clock trying to keep our roads as safe as possible. Our employees work hard and take their responsibilities seriously. After every snow storm I always get the same question: Why do crews block driveways?
Plowing streets is a hard job. And, if plow truck operators would have to pick up their plows before each home it would take forever to keep roads clear of the snow.
This is a national problem. I googled the question and 599,000 responses quickly came up. Our new Commissioner of Public Works. Rich Fon, is always researching innovative approaches to problems and we will look at what other communities are doing but so far we have found that the problems we experience here in Greenburgh are also experienced around the country. We will look into the following concept that some communities are trying.
PAUL FEINER, Greenburgh Town Supervisor
By Mark Abrams
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – So, when that next snowfall hits the region in the coming weeks, how can you prevent that municipal snow plow from ruining the work you just did clearing out your driveway access to the street?
There’s probably nothing more frustrating than shoveling out the driveway and clearing a nice apron area to the street to pull out… And then, along comes the snow plow and pushes a big pile of snow right back in front of the driveway.
“A lot of people don’t realize it that the snow plows we use are just the big dump trucks,” says Don Cannon, Lower Merion Township’s director of public works. “They’re not like the plows in the parking lot where they can articulate the plow back and forth and move the snow one way or the other. What we say is that snow is loaded on the front of that plow and it just continually comes off — driver’s side to passenger’s side — or left to right towards the gutter line.”
But Cannon says there is a way to avoid having the municipal plow block your driveway.
“If you shovel out a space — looking at your house to the right side of your driveway — that would allow for the amount of snow that’s on that plow to be, say, discharged in that area before it goes past your driveway that’s that much less snow that goes in front of your driveway when the plow comes down.”
Cannon insists many plow drivers are sensitive to the work suburban residents do to dig out.
Why do they plow snow in front of my driveway? Bay Village, Ohio
Snow plow operators do not place snow in driveways on purpose. There is no practical way for the snow plow operator to cut off the windrow of snow when crossing a driveway. This problem is especially acute in cul-de-sacs because of the space. One thing you can do to reduce the amount of snow that is plowed in front of your driveway is to place as much of the snow as possible to the right side of your drive as you face the street.
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