Cedar Rapids prepping snowplows with maintenance and children’s paintings

Even when it’s 100 degrees out, some Cedar Rapids employees are thinking about winter. Snowplow inspections and maintenance started in the city at the end of August, as well as an invitation to Cedar Rapids schools and community groups to decorate the plows with paint.

Paint a plow program

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Cedar Rapids started its annual Paint a Plow program around mid-August, and it will run until Oct. 20. Schools and community organizations that sign up on the city’s website will receive a snowplow blade, paint, a tarp, and brushes that they can keep for a week while decorating the plow.

The program has been going for almost 10 years now, though originally it was only open to schools. Public Works Assistant Director Mike Duffy said he got the idea from other cities while attending an American Public Works Association conference.

“As a father myself, I thought how great of an opportunity it was to give children the experience to showcase something of theirs on a city vehicle,” Duffy said. “We started with schools and have since expanded to Cedar Rapids organizations. I think it is a great example of the creative and collaborative community we have here.”

Typically around 10 organizations participate in the program, but the city has around 50 plows that can be painted. As of Aug. 25 this year, six organizations had already signed up.

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“The program is intended to engage with the community and increase awareness around snow removal efforts,” Duffy said.

“Over the years when we drop off the plows to local organizations such as schools, day cares and boys and girls troops we stress the importance of the work our experts put into keeping streets clear and safe,” Duffy said. “We also talk about the long hours and commitment of our staff to keeping the public moving safely and allowing organizations such as schools to start on time.”

The paint for the plows is water-based and does wear away as the plows are used during the winter. Duffy said city staff warn organizations of this when they deliver the plows to be painted. Each year during annual maintenance the plows are painted over, providing a fresh canvas for new decorations for the next winter.

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Winter preparations

Cedar Rapids public works employees perform regular maintenance on all city vehicles, and maintenance for snowplows gets added to the schedule toward the end of August, said Kylie Petersen, the city Public Works Operations coordinator.

“We start to begin winter preparation in late August by servicing the snow equipment with the trucks during general maintenance. This includes inspecting equipment and ensuring all of the equipment is serviced and ready for service,” Petersen said. “We’re always thinking about winter and reflecting on the previous year for lessons learned.”

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This year’s winter may look a little different from the past couple of years, said Iowa State Climatologist Justin Glisan. After three years of La Nina cycles, Iowa is heading into an El Nino cycle.

El Nino and La Nina cycles are based on the sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, and how jet streams from the ocean affect weather patterns across the United States.

El Nino is typically warmer than La Nina, meaning that while this winter will still be cold in Iowa, it might not be as cold as it has been the past few years.

What exactly that means for snowfall and snowplow usage still is hard to tell. La Nina tends to lend itself to a lot of precipitation, but there’s more variability in El Nino years, Glisan said.

“More than a season out it’s difficult to tell, but the initial outlooks that we have are suggesting a warmer signal, but not a real clear signal on precipitation this winter,” Glisan said.

Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com