The men behind the plows

In a neighborhood known for its hills and tight parking, being a snow plow driver can be especially difficult.

As soon as the roads were coated last night, Albert Hawkins and Vince Mazzuca of the Philadelphia Streets Department were driving circles around their Manayunk route, plowing, salting and returning to do the same again and again until they could see the blacktop this morning.

By 9 a.m. Wednesday, the treacherous roads were clear, thanks to those with the city’s Streets Department who had been on the clock since 7 a.m. Tuesday, preparing for the snow. 

Crews were still working tirelessly to clear the snow by mid-morning Wednesday. 

This year, the crew says plowing was made easier by the smaller truck used to accommodate Manayunk’s narrow streets.

Together, the three men remember last years disastrous storm. Hawkins said this year’s snow was light and fluffy; last year was heavy and plow warping.

Although their work can seem endless during a storm, Mazzuca said that most residents in Manayunk are grateful for the service of safe roads – except, of course, when the plow comes by and boxes your car back in.