A couple weeks ago, Marblehead resident Ed Lewis noticed three children standing in the street, traffic whizzing past, while they waited for an MBTA bus to the high school.
After storms dumped more than 2 feet of snow on the town, Lewis said he regularly saw kids walking in the street to avoid snow-covered sidewalks. He also noticed hazardous crosswalks and intersections.
So, he picked up his shovel and, according to Lewis, did the “bare minimum” to clear several bus stops and sidewalks.
That effort sparked an idea.
Using his expertise as a front-end web engineer, Lewis designed Snow Patrol, a web app that allows users to anonymously flag areas in town that need shoveling. Locations can be marked “resolved” once snow is cleared.
The app was created Feb. 8, and since then at least 11 people have used it (as of Monday afternoon).
“It’s better to see what we can do rather than complain about things being wrong,” Lewis said. “People need to understand that, if you’re the person who notices it, you can take some action yourself.”
Lewis shared a link to the app on a Marblehead Facebook page, where it received positive feedback, with one woman calling it an “awesome” idea.
He also encouraged community members to be “nice” when asking for help, noting that many have “perfectly valid” reasons for being unable to shovel.
Unlike many neighboring communities, Marblehead has no bylaw requiring residents or business owners to clear snow from sidewalks. The town uses its snow removal equipment to clear streets, but much of that snow is pushed onto sidewalks.
The Current has previously reported that schools are responsible for clearing sidewalks on their own property, though where those responsibilities begin and end can be unclear. As a result, many sidewalks remain buried.
School Superintendent John Robidoux expressed appreciation for Snow Patrol.
“It takes a village, and any way we can collaborate for the safety of our students, staff and community partners is always appreciated,” Robidoux said.
Snow Patrol allows users to rate the difficulty of a job from 1 to 4, helping volunteers determine whether a shovel, snowblower or plow may be needed. Lewis said the feature could also help the town identify areas that may need touchups from snowplows.
The app does not generate revenue, and Lewis said he has no plans to charge for shoveling jobs. Instead, it is meant to organize community efforts and keep pedestrians safe, he said.
As the snow melts, Lewis said the app could continue serving as a tool for community reporting and repurposed for other tasks.
