Snow blowers droning, metal shovels scraping icy pavement, tires spinning on slick streets – sounds like the post-blizzard fun of 2015 hasn’t quite leveled-off yet since Super Bowl Sunday (I still can’t believe Seattle didn’t hand it off to Lynch on the goal line!). Although drivers are getting used to looking around snow mountains for traffic when turning at corners, the local fallout or “flakegate” is still humming at a good pitch.
Social media was the venting platform for many in Buffalo Grove and Lincolnshire who weren’t happy with snow removal efforts. From what I saw, those posting on facebook either didn’t get their street plowed in a timely fashion or experienced what I face every winter – snow plows passing by and transplanting mounds of snow from the curb onto the back end of my driveway. That usually happens right after I’ve cleared it.
If you bring the plow-dumping-into-driveway argument up with public works officials the response you’ll get is, “Well, then where do we put all the snow?” Here’s my point on that one: What good is it to clear your street in a blizzard if a gigantic plow blade is going to push a snow barricade onto your driveway and prevent you from going anywhere?
In defense of all the public works snow plow drivers out there, it’s a tough job to clear winter’s wrath as it continues coming down for hours and I’m sure many would have rather been watching the Patriots and Seahawks battle it out (A quick screen pass to win the game instead of Beast Mode plowing through the goal-line defense, seriously?).
So in this modern age of technology I can think of three solutions to avoid potential snow removal snafus in the future. We could invest in high-tech snow plows that can maneuver front blades like a Dyson vacuum cleaner and not lose its entire snow load while making a slow pass or turn in front of your home. We could also train current drivers on better ways to clear the streets without blocking paths of not-so-happy neighbors. But maybe the most innovative approach would be hiring Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch, giving him a shovel and letting him plow away! Just don’t ask him about it afterwards.
Eric Scott is a Pioneer Press community contributor, former TV newscast producer now working in corporate communications and serves on the Board of Directors for the Stevenson High School Foundation
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