It's Snowing—There's An App for Tracking That

A snow storm came through overnight, your street hasn't been cleared. When can you expect to have your street cleared? Cities are increasingly providing snowplow tracking information to residents.

1 minute read

January 11, 2016, 5:00 AM PST

By Jennifer Evans-Cowley @EvansCowley


Cars in the snow

Juanan Barros Moreno / Shutterstock

Cities are making it easier for citizens to track city services. For example, Ann ArborChicago, Newark, New York, Pittsburg, and Seattle now have apps that allows residents to track snow removal operations as they happen.

Chicago allows residents to easily track where the plows are throughout the city.

GPS devices are installed on snowplows. This allows their routes to be tracked as they clear the roads. Tracking sites allow residents to see where the snow plow has been and the rating of their street based on priority. It also makes it easier for residents to report errors, such as a missed street. Companies such as CrewTracker and Snow Removal Tracking Software provide software cities and others can use to track and manage snow removal.

Chicago's Snow Plow Tracking System

Your street was missed, no problem, there is a snow app for that. Plows&Mowz (Android and iOS) allows residents to order snow plowing services from a mobile app.

Does your city track snow removal? Tell us about how well snow removal tracking works in your community. 


Jennifer Evans-Cowley

Jennifer Evans-Cowley, PhD, FAICP, is the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at th eUniversity of North Texas. Dr. Evans-Cowley regularly teaches courses to prepare candidates to take the AICP exam. In 2011, Planetizen named Cowley as one of the leading thinkers in planning and technology. Her research regularly appears in planning journals, she is the author of four Planning Advisory Service Reports for the American Planning Association, and regularly blogs for Planetizen.

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