City issues instructions for plowed snow spots

When snow falls, it can be a bittersweet feeling to watch plows coming down the road.

While everyone wants their roads cleared, shoveling the mounds of snow pushed off the road and on your driveway can be an unpleasant experience, to say the least. There's no way to prevent the snow plowed from the road from pushing over onto roadway shoulders, sidewalks and driveways, but the city of Cape Girardeau and the Missouri Department of Transportation are promoting a driveway shoveling technique that could save residents some grief.

There's no way to eliminate the problem of snow plows pushing snow into driveways, but the problem can be minimized. By clearing snow 15 feet along the shoulder to the left of the driveway, it creates an area for displaced snow to be deposited. Most, but not necessarily all, of the snow from the plow will end up in the cleared space, leaving a much smaller amount in front of the driveway.

An illustration and video of the driveway clearing technique is available at modot.org/road_conditions/keepdrivewayclear.htm.