Town of Brighton

BRIGHTON COOLS TO ONE-MAN PLOWING:

A trial program to cut back from two workers per snowplow to one has caused a firestorm of protest from some Brighton residents who say the change will make it more difficult for plow operators to see children waiting for buses and joggers running in the streets.

The residents have signed petitions, started a Web site, attended meetings and even put signs up in their yards in an effort to stop the town's pilot program before the heavy snow starts to fall.

Without the second person in the truck to help watch, "The driver cannot see someone standing on the other side of the truck," said Judy Keehn, president of the Ellison Park Heights Neighborhood Association and one of the people collecting signatures. "They are asking people to drive a manual nine-gear truck while handling salt control and working both plows — in a state where we're not allowed to hold a cell phone."

But other highway departments, such as Greece and Webster, made the decision to go with one operator in all their trucks about a decade ago and have no regrets. In fact, Webster has split its drivers into two shifts, which has cut down on the need for overtime, quickened response times because employees were already at work and made it possible for more plows to be on the road at one time.

The state Department of Transportation switched to one-person plowing in the early 1990s, when the state talked to others in the Northeast and even other countries to see what worked best. Since then, snowplow-related accidents have actually decreased, said Lori Maher, a DOT spokeswoman. The state credits that decrease to fewer distractions for drivers, more training and the fact that one person is now accountable for everything.

Note the discussion later in the article about how other Monroe County towns treat this issue.