Here's a modern-era answer to one of the things Northlanders love to complain about in the winter:  The City of Superior has added GPS tracking to their truck fleet - which means that residents will be able to have up-to-the-minute data on where the snow plows are this winter.

The announcement came direct from Superior Mayor Jim Paine, with a post to social media.

The GPS units were installed in the service trucks as a means of creating efficiencies in the Public Works department.  However, the city decided to make the data generated public - providing a tracking tool with a live map that will help ease some of the winter stress and questions.

According to information on the city's website, the GPS install happened through a partnership with Verizon Connect.  The tool has been installed on the four sanders that the Public Works Department uses as the lead-trucks in snow response:

"[The] city's four sanders....are the main winter patrol trucks.  These four trucks are the first out during winter weather events.  They have a wide range of responsibilities including snow plowing, keeping our major streets and highways open, and applying salt and sand throughout the city.  The sanders are used during every winter event.  They work together in tandem on the highways.  Each is also responsible for an individual route throughout the city."

City officials hope that making the GPS tracking data available will "be a good informational tool".  The data will update every 30 seconds so it will be the most-current source for people to know where the crews are.

It's worth noting that the city also utilizes other plow and sand trucks to service residential routes.  Those trucks don't have GPS units installed right now.

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The tracking tool can be publicly accessed through a web browser or through an app on mobile devices.  Access through a web browser is made by using the link and the username and password given below. Clicking the 'Keep me logged in' checkbox will prevent you from having to reenter the username and password the next time you access the site.

Here are the log in details:

The city shares that if you're using a mobile device - like a cellphone - the map is viewed easier using the Reveal Manager app.  That app is available for Android devices on the Google Play Store and for iOS devices through the Apple App Store.

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