Hey kids, ever wanted to name a snow plow? Now’s your chance!

The City of Calgary is inviting local students from Kindergarten through Grade 9 to submit their most creative names for our snow plows. The best submissions will be used to name the plows in our snow fleet.

“The City of Calgary’s snow fleet is an important part of our snow response,” says Chris McGeachy, spokesperson for The City of Calgary. “Winter is a big part of what makes our city so special, and giving each of our plows a name is a fun way to highlight some of the work that goes into keeping our city moving during those winter days.”

Every winter, our fleet of snow plows helps keep Calgary’s roads clear of snow and ice. During every winter storm The City has sanders out tackling the snow. These sanders are large trucks fitted with a special insert that stores our sand/salt (pickle) mix. The driver can then decide when it is best to spread this material out. Each sander is equipped with a plow, either on its front or on its underbelly, and can push snow to the side of the road as it moves along. They’re very strong machines!

To enter the contest, students, parents and teachers can visit Calgary.ca/plow, where they will find the snow plow naming form, along with a snow plow colouring sheet, an information sheet about The City’s snow program and a space to ask questions of our snow experts. Similar plow naming initiatives have been used in other municipalities, such as the Ministry of Transportation in Scotland, and the Minnesota Department of Transportation in the United States.

The contest will be open until Nov. 30, and the winning names will be announced in early winter. The chosen names will be visible on plows they clear Calgary’s streets this winter and will also show up on our online road conditions map.