By Harriette Halepis

WKBW, February, 11, 2010, Buffalo, New York – When snow falls in any city, the first thing that city-dwellers want to know is: how quickly will snow be removed from city streets? In the past, this question was met with a bit of fumbling and a lot of guesses. This is no longer the case in Buffalo, New York, where more than 80 city snow removal trucks have been outfitted with GPS tracking technology.

Snow Removal & GPS Tracking

Salt trucks and snowplows alike are now equipped with GPS trackers that tell the Buffalo Public Works Department how much snow has been removed, what streets have been plowed, and whether or not streets have been salted. Steve Stepniak told WKBW news that the new GPS trackers give the city “…tracking ability, vehicle information ability, whether the plow is down up, spreading salt (WKBW).”

A federal grant paid for Buffalo’s $175,000 GPS tracking system. The system has already proved its worth, and the city believe that snow removal will be even more efficient next year. Stepniak promises citizens that they will “…see better services and more efficient services…when we miss a dead end we’ll know and we’ll be able to make adjustments, so you don’t see those chronic mistakes (WKBW).”

Not only are the GPS trackers ideal for tracking snow plows and salt trucks, trash trucks and street sweepers will also be outfitted with the trackers during the warmer months. This will help street crews to keep track of roads that have already been cleaned, while paying more attention to those roads that need cleaning. While the street sweepers and trash vehicles aren’t equipped with GPS trackers yet, Buffalo has applied for an additional federal grant.

The city of Buffalo hopes to place GPS trackers on nearly 545 different city vehicles within the near future. Other cities that have received a lot of snowfall in the past are currently looking towards Buffalo’s experimental GPS tracking program. So far, the program proves to be worth every penny, and residents of other cold climate cities can expect to see similar programs implemented within the next few years.

GPS tracking devices are really beginning to change the way that public employees and vehicles operate. From tracking the whereabouts of city employees to tracking the effectiveness of snow removal, GPS technology has made it possible to manage seemingly unmanageable public works departments across the nation.