Why hasn't snow removal been automated?

Submitted by Patrick Grote on Thu, 11/30/2006 - 5:10am.

Today, St. Louis is expecting a massive ice and snow storm. We haven't had one in a long time, so of course, everyone is freaking out. What is it about humans that force us to buy milk and bread when someone says it's about to snow?

I don't know.

What I do know is that the process of snow removal still sucks. Think about the technologies available. Sure, there are snow blowers, but they've be around since 1925. Yes, they've become mechanical and more powerful, but they still don't do a good job on ice.

I remember my father telling me that a building he worked out ran pipes underneath the sidewalks. The pipes contained hot water and that lead to the sidewalks melting the ice and snow. Ingenious. That was in the late 1960s. Sure, they still have radiant snow melting products, but what have we done since then? It makes a ton of sense to have a system like this if you live in Buffalo, but what about St. Louis? What about other areas that get snow now and then?

Looking all over the internet doesn't help. There aren't any cutting edge sites on snow and ice removal. The time old traditions of shoveling, salting and sanding still hold up.

You would think that a consumer products company would invent some sort of heat ray that would allow people to remove the snow and ice on their driveways.

I don't know, call me crazy, but when one activity is linked to a high rate of heart attacks, it screams opportunity.