For our newcomers who have heard all of the horror stories about how cold and snowy it can be in Coeur d'Alene, relax. In a typical winter, there are six or seven good snowstorms.

Each one takes a couple of days to fully "mop up." That's about 14 snow days to weather. Our first real snowstorm will likely occur sometime later this month or early December. It will be named Storm "Abracadabra."

This year's storm names - alphabetically themed after names of Idaho ski runs - were created by Logan Nosworthy, first-place winner from Ms. Sue DeGraw's fourth grade class at Bryan Elementary School. Why do we name storms? In order to track, record, and critique our performance, we give each storm a name. It also helps us communicate storm status on KVNI radio, The Coeur d'Alene Press, and on the city's webpage. Plus it's fun and it gives kids something to think about.

We've already been planning and preparing for winter. With over 240 lane miles of streets, many which require six plow passes and have an average of 67 inches of snowfall each year, your department is ready for the snow challenge.

With additional resources that the City Council has dedicated to street maintenance and some process improvements, the average time for us to complete a citywide plowing has been reduced to about 38 hours, a 25 percent decrease from the 1999-2000 winter.

One statistic we keep is the number of missed school days; there have been only 10 since the winter of 1999-2000, six occurring during the record winters of 2007-08 and 2008-09 (sorry kids).

In 2004, the Association of Idaho Cities recognized Coeur d'Alene with a City Achievement Award for its unique and popular "Snow Gate Program."

Where practical, neighborhood plowing is done with front-end loaders equipped with "snow gate" plows. These state-of-the-art snow machines enable us to reduce the amount of snow you may find in your driveway after we pass by.

Also, the 2010-2011 Snow Plan recommends a target of 38 hours for a citywide snow plowing, reduced noticeably from the 52-hour target of a few years ago. The 38-hour target compares well and in most cases exceeds targets of other comparable snow cities in the northwest.

I wish you could ride in our snowplow trucks, graders, or loaders to appreciate just how demanding and potentially dangerous it is to plow snow.

We are blessed to have a very talented group of equipment operators working for the city. As a team, they have dramatically reduced the number of snow plowing complaints. Our operators, both men and women, have maintained a remarkable safety record.

Would you help us to do a better job? After a major snowstorm, please try not to park on the street until after we finish plowing. You will get a much better result.

If you are in doubt as to whether we are plowing, listen to KVNI 1080 AM or call us at 769-2233. The Street Department website will also be updated regularly. I would encourage you to check this valuable tool.

Although snow removal is improving in the city, it is not realistic to expect all snow problems to go away. I promise you that we will do the best job possible.

Tim Martin is street superintendent for the city of Coeur d'Alene.