On The Road With Goshen Township

For most of us, when snow and ice start falling we get off the roads in a hurry. But for Goshen Township's Service Department, snow and ice means just the opposite, for them it means that it's time to hit the roads.

Goshen Township's 5-man service department team is responsible for clearing all 123 Township maintained roads when bad weather hits. And with two major winter storms just 7 days apart in January alone, that adds up to long days inside a small truck cab and a lot of overtime hours for the guys. "They keep talking about global warming, well I'm ready for it!" laughs Goshen Township Service Director Lou Clemons.

With two serious snowfalls in just one week, he said his team is worn out. "One of their strong points is that they all pitch in. It's all teamwork," Clemons says of his team.

It's that teamwork that some people in Goshen Township are noticing. One neighbor in the Liberty Woods sub-division called the government offices on Wednesday (2/4/2009) morning to thank the service department, "I'd just like to say thank you very much. He did a wonderful job," the woman said of the service department worker who plowed her street after Tuesday's (2/3/2009) storm, "He had our cul-de-sac cleared by 6:15 in the morning. We live on a no-outlet street, and we understand it's not priority."

Clemons says the service department plows roads in a priority order not necessarily geographically. The plows go to main roads first, and then onto residential through streets, and end with residential dead end streets. They do this in order to make sure the busiest roads are cleared first.

With salt pricing more than double the rate from last year, the Service department is working to make sure the supply goes further, and lasts longer than in years past. Clemons said the department is spreading less salt to start with, and then only laying it in the middle of the streets. "Our roads are 'arc' built," Clemons said, "when the salt runs off, the idea is that it will melt outward."

Clemons said there are a few simple things you can to do help the Service Department help you during heavy snowfalls.

• First of all, make sure to park your car in the driveway, and off the main roads in order to give the plows more room to maneuver.
• The most common complaint received, is that plows push snow onto the foot of driveways, blocking cars in. Clemons says the best way to help avoid this is to shovel the road in front of your house a little bit, that way the deposits in front of your driveway won't get as high when the plow comes through.
• Finally, when you shovel your driveway, move horizontally instead of vertically. Pile the unwanted snow on your lawn, not at the foot of your driveway. "It's a little known fact that it's actually illegal to shovel snow onto a public street," Clemons said. This will also help with the snow pile up at the foot of your driveway.        

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