The city of Madison announced the results of the “Name These Plows!” snowplow naming contest Feb. 23. Madison residents voted for the names of the four plows through a ranked-choice voting system. The winning names were Snowbi Wan Kenobi, Seymour Pavement, Saltimus Prime and Dolly Plowton, according to the city of Madison.
This election was inspired by plow naming elections in other communities, Streets Division Spokesman Bryan Johnson said. The election was held on the Wisconsin SaltWise website during Wisconsin Salt Awareness Week, between Jan. 23 and Feb. 3. Johnson said that each plow up for election got over 3,000 votes, with the quad-axle truck getting the most votes.
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Johnson said the weird names submitted by Madison residents for consideration were indicative of the city’s culture, pointing out that Madison’s official bird is the plastic flamingo. The naming contest was put on in joint with Wisconsin SaltWise, an organization that aims to reduce salt usage in all aspects of life.
“The goal of the contest was to increase awareness and understanding of the diversity of equipment that goes out there… around snow and ice control,” Wisconsin Salt Wise Program manager Allison Madison said.
SaltWise is a group of organizations across Wisconsin that aims to reduce salt pollution in freshwater, Madison said.
“We want to move towards using less salt. People need to understand that salt is a pollutant in our water… Once you put salt down, it doesn’t go away,” Madison said. “It all goes into our water.”
Due to salt lingering in water sources, Madison said eventually our water will become undrinkable. We have only been using salt on our roads for 60 years, but if we continue to use salt at this rate, it will pollute the water to a point where it is unsafe to drink, Madison said.
The city of Madison Streets Division is reducing salt usage by brining the streets before a snowstorm. Brining uses specialized trucks which spray a low-salt water solution on the roads to prevent the snow from sticking in the first place. This reduces salt usage because the snow melts and washes away into the sewage system, preventing ice from forming on the roads, which in turn would require more salt. The most common truck they use for brining is the quad-axle truck — now known as Saltimus Prime.
According to SaltWise, the use of brine saves thousands of dollars and reduces salt usage by large amounts. According to the SaltWise website, the use of salt in Jefferson County was reduced by nine million pounds due to the usage of brine.
Madison said there are many salt reduction practices many residents may not think of, like sweeping up excess salt after the ice is melted. This ensures the correct amount of salt is used and allows for the salt to be reused for the next snowfall.
Johnson said that the Streets division allows people to sign up for weekly emails about the plow schedules and more. There is also an option to sign up for text message updates that let you know when a snow emergency is declared.
The University of Wisconsin students are able to intern at SaltWise, or volunteer through the Badger Volunteers program. At the moment, two UW students are interning at SaltWise, according to their website.
Johnson said this isn’t the first time they named a piece of equipment for the Streets Division — last year there was a similar contest to name the city’s electric compactors.
Johnson said he hopes to have trading card-style cards for each named plow, and on the backside of it, have information regarding salt usage. Johnson said that he would like to see on the backside salt guidelines on how much to use for your sidewalk or driveway.
