Norristown Snow Plow Update

Image: the unplowed scene on Morgan Street Sunday afternoon, via reader Patti Frank.

NORRISTOWN, PA -- Snow plow crews around the region are working hard to clear the streets, but many neighborhoods remain unplowed.

Norristown residents expressed frustration on Sunday afternoon as they shoveled out their vehicles and attempted to get on the road.

“The public works crews are out there, they are trying to catch up from yesterday, it will take them several hours to get to all the streets,” Norristown Municipality said. “The alleys won’t be cleared until the streets are cleared. We ask that you be patient as the Public Works crew are trying to keep up with the demand.”

On Saturday night, plowing was a “secondary” priority for the Public Works crews as they worked to free ambulances and emergency vehicles that were stuck.

PennDOT has also introduced a new app that allows residents to monitor where hundreds of the state’s plow trucks are during winter weather.

To see how roads in your area are faring, PennDOT has now outfitted more than 700 plow trucks with Automated Vehicle Location (AVL) technology.

Users of the 511 PA app will be able track more than 500 PennDOT plow trucks and more than 200 contracted rental trucks servicing interstates and expressways across the state.

According to officials, the new technology will also help improve PennDOT’s real-time information on vehicle movement, plow-route coverage and usage of materials such as salt and anti-skid.

The borough of Norristown has offered the following tips to residents to assist in the removal of snow:

1. Obey the street maintenance route schedule. Most streets in Norristown are posted with signs that prohibit parking during certain days of the week and certain hours. These prohibitions allow snow plows to more effectively push snow to the curb because there are no cars to get in the way of the plows. The result is that the streets are cleaner, safer and the town is better prepared for the next storm.

2. Don’t throw snow into the street. Sometimes, particularly in neighborhoods without front lawns, it can be difficult to find a spot to place the snow once it is removed from cars and sidewalks. Often residents will simply shovel the snow into the street. Please don’t. Snow shoveled back into the street can create dangerous ice patches. Accidents can happen. Moreover, if the snow plow comes through for another pass, the snow will simply be pushed back against your car.

A better approach is to find a spot on the sidewalk for the snow. Norristown requires that each resident clear only a 30-inch wide path on sidewalk. In most cases, this leaves room for you to pile the snow you removed from your car.

Throwing snow into the street may result in a $10 fine, so please find an alternative.

3. Don’t place chairs, cones or other objects in the street to reserve your parking space. Shoveling snow is difficult. And it is frustrating to dig out your car, create a neat parking space, only to have someone else park there and benefit from all the hard work you did.

For this reason many residents place chairs or other objects in the street to save their parking space. Please don’t do this. These objects create an obstacle which impedes the ability of the public works crews to effectively clear the snow.

Starting in 2012, if objects are placed in the street, the public works departments is authorized to remove and dispose of them.

So please help us get the streets clear of snow. Don’t place chairs and other objects in the street.

4. Clear the snow from your sidewalk. Norristown residents have 24 hours after the end of the snowfall to remove snow or ice from the sidewalk. Please clear a path at least 30 inches wide.