New York's Real-Time Snow Plow Map to Get its First Major Test This Weekend
A snow plow in Brooklyn, NY. Mark Lennihan/AP
With a foot of snow in New York City all but assured by Saturday morning, PlowNYC is about to hit the big time.
PlowNYC, the interactive map that allows New York City residents to watch their army of plow-nosed garbage trucks deploy through the city in real time, will have its first test this weekend. Unveiled during last year's mild winter, it has yet to receive the same publicity as a similar program in Chicago.
But with a foot of snow in New York City all but assured by Saturday morning, PlowNYC is about to hit the big time.
The color-coded map illustrates the city's priority plowing system, with streets marked in red, blue, and yellow showing which streets should get plowed before others. After the city's last big blizzard, in December 2010, some residents and politicians accused Mayor Bloomberg ofabandoning the city's outlying areas, so the map could theoretically allay concerns that any particular neighborhood is getting preferential treatment.