Howard County, Md.’s Snowplow Tracker Is Ready for Winter
Howard County Snow Tracker
The jurisdiction is not alone in improving real-time snow and ice removal data relayed to residents and government itself.
‘Tis the season when state and local governments develop or upgrade their snowplow tracking systems, and Howard County, Maryland, is no exception— replacing 16-year-old software .
The county spent $44,000 on the mobile-friendly HowardCountySnowTracker.org and maintenance and support, reported The Baltimore Sun , after major Mid-Atlantic snow storms last winter left users clamoring for real-time, not sporadic, updates.
Howard County joins cities like Cincinnati , which recently launched 14 CincyInsights interactive dashboards including a Snow Plow Tracker , and the state of Kentucky , which went a step further earlier this year in crowdsourcing traffic data to optimize snow and ice removal.
"It's going to be much more accurate, provide better information to the public and help us manage our business in a better fashion," James Irvin, Howard County Public Works director, told The Sun . "People have come to rely upon it much more.”
Automatic vehicle locators were installed in 152 Bureau of Highway Vehicles taking digital photos every 10 seconds. That data is plotted on Howard County’s new site, which relies on common Google Maps icons and navigation.
Snowplow routes are color coded depending on when they are plowed, salted or chemically treated. A green trail indicates the street was plowed or treated in the last four hours, a purple trail in the last four to eight hours, blue eight to 12 hours, and grey 12-plus.
The map can also be used to pull up video feeds in various regions, view traffic speeds and look up current weather information.
A hamburger menu leads to important details about the county’s snow removal operations plan, contact information, tips on clearing sidewalks, and links to forms for filing claims should a government vehicle damage a resident’s property.
Dave Nyczepir is a News Editor at Government Executive’s Route Fifty and is based in Washington D.C.
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