Chicago — In the coming winter, you may see snow-prah Winfrey, Bill-izzard Murray or Salt Capone on a snowbound Chicago street.
On Wednesday, the city said it will hold a contest later this year in which the public can name some of the baby-blue “Snow Fighting Trucks” in its fleet.
According to the Tribune, the details of the competition are still being worked on by the department’s director of public affairs, Mimi Simon.
“The Department of Streets and Sanitation (DSS) together with the Department of Assets, Information and Services (AIS) are currently discussing a naming contest for a small subset of snow plows for next year’s snow season,” she said.
Submissions could begin this summer, according to Simon.
Chicago has 675 motor-truck drivers who are available for dispatch during heavy snowfalls.
“For snow, it’s really all-hands-on-deck for the men and women of Streets and Sanitation, drivers as well as other staff,” Simon said.
Each one can be tracked with the Department of Streets and Sanitation’s Plow Tracker during these events.
Some states have used naming contests to recognize employees who drive snowplows and to raise awareness for winter driving safety.
As reported by the Detroit Free Press, Michigan’s Department of Transportation selected names from more than 15,000 submissions for its fleet of 330 snowplows this month. The Big LePlowski, Flake Michigan, and Mr. Salty Pants are just a few of the titles that made the list.
According to the Akron Beacon Journal, the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission has also placed the names of its eight Name-A-Snowplow contest winners on its vehicles. Their names are largely puns on “Star Wars” characters, as well as ’90s hip-hop acts and songs, such as Snowbi-wan Kenobi, Darth Blader, Sir Plows-A-Lot, and Ah, Push It… Push It Real Good!
In the past two years, the Minnesota Department of Transportation has offered a Name A Snowplow contest. Somehow, Mary Tyler More Snow, Ain’t Snow Stopping Us Now and Raspberry Brrr-et didn’t receive enough votes to move on to the finals.
Vermont students chose names for the state’s Agency of Transportation last fall, and Minnesota’s Department of Transportation encouraged North Dakota’s Department of Transportation to hold its first Name-A-Plow contest in December.
