Young Bangorians have come up with a creative list of names for the public works department’s six sidewalk snow plows.
Bangor Public Works Director Aaron Huotari announced a competition to name the city’s snow removal machines in late September, which was open to students at any of Bangor’s public schools.
Thirty-three entries came in from six schools, and Bangor city staff voted for their favorites, Huotari said Wednesday. The idea was to find a fun way to teach students about how the city keeps the streets and sidewalks clear during the winter, he said.
“Our regular routes are more than 80 miles of sidewalks,” he said.
This winter, the department will prioritize plowing sidewalks near schools to ensure students can get there safely, Huotari said. The change adds about 4 1/2 miles to workers’ routes, he said.
Huotari presented the winning names to the Bangor City Council on Monday.
The selected names and the schools that nominated them include:
— AC Sleeter, Vine Street School
— Bangorilla, Fourteenth Street School
— Freeze-mobile, William S. Cohen School
— Nor’easter Beaster, Bangor High School
— Snarf Snarf, Bangor Regional Program
— Snowy McBlowie, Abraham Lincoln School
“The students’ excitement was evident in the number and creativity of names submitted,” the city wrote on its Facebook page.
Bangor has five snow plows, but the council recently approved the purchase of two more, Huotari said. One of those will arrive in time for this winter, while the other will be used next year, he said.
The city’s machines include the trackless MT7, a municipal tractor that is the “workhorse” of the public works fleet, and the Wacker Neuson WL28, a newer, more maneuverable sidewalk plower outfitted with a snowblower, among others, Huotari said in a YouTube video shared in late September.
The sixth snow plow is also an MT7 machine because it’s a “time-tested favorite,” and it allows the public works department to have a back-up option if one of its machines breaks, he said.
“Our biggest struggle is running into unseen objects under the snow and ice,” he said.
The schools will submit designs to be displayed on the snow plows, which are due Nov. 17. Huotari is working with the schools to set up an opportunity for students to observe the machine, measure it and do whatever else is needed to come up with a design.
“Ideally, the operator plowing around the school will take it in to show the kids,” he said. “We’re trying to create a connection with the students to show them the machine in their neighborhood.”
Students’ designs will be printed on vinyl and displayed on the machines this winter.
BDN reporter Emily Burnham contributed to this story.
