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Snow Hole

The snow has to go somewhere...
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Here on the Eastern seaboard of the US, it is currently 1 million degrees and 1 million percent humid. This was not always so, in fact, 6-8 months ago there was snow. Lots of it. Now, when the snow appears the city sends out snow ploughs. They take the snow on the roads and push it off to the side. Similarly, motivated individuals take a variety of tools and move the snow off their paths and sidewalk. So, we now have the snow from 15 ft of road and 10 ft of sidewalk condensed into a 2 ft strip between the two, or possibly on your car. This forms big piles. If it snows repeatedly, this gets to be a big problem. Especially as massive piles melt slowly.

We need a solution. Mine, is a hole. Holes are simple devices, and have been used by many cultures over long periods of time for diverse purposes. Simply put a plough- width hole in the sidewalk-street interface region. Snow ploughs can then put the snow in the hole, using gravity. "What happens to the snow once it gets into the hole?" I hear you cry. Well, if you dig it deep enough, 15-20 ft say, then the residual geothermal heat will melt it. Put a drain in the bottom. If the water table's too high, consider moving the city to a more sensible location or invest in a pump.

bs0u0155, Sep 02 2014

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       Cyclists and children would fall in ....   

       ... so really, there's no downside. [+]
8th of 7, Sep 02 2014
  

       I suppose some form of grating could be designed and incorporated into the plans. If it gets dropped for cost reasons later on, then noone can say we didn't try.
bs0u0155, Sep 02 2014
  

       So a roadside ditch then?
the porpoise, Sep 02 2014
  

       It has to be quite a bit deeper than a regular ditch, and it's not really practical to have continuous ditches in an urban environment.
bs0u0155, Sep 02 2014
  

       Why not go shallower and cover it in straw come spring? During the summer, the melting snow stock might shave a couple of degrees off those million.
the porpoise, Sep 02 2014
  

       They could just fix the drainage a bit, after a massive thunderstorm there's about 1 million puddles that hang around contributing to the 1 million percent humidity.
bs0u0155, Sep 02 2014
  

       In my hometown, which is coastal, they bring the piles in dumptrucks and dump them into the water.
xandram, Sep 02 2014
  

       That works, obviously, but it seems a bit of a faff to have to load it up. Why not use a hole? I think holes are cheaper than trucks. Apart from the Channel Tunnel, that was an expensive hole, you wouldn't want to pack that with snow, if it got too packed, you might inadvertently isolate Europe.
bs0u0155, Sep 02 2014
  

       //Mine, is a hole.   

       <Soviet accent>   

       Is where we get Uranium.   

       </Soviet accent>
the porpoise, Sep 02 2014
  

       // if you dig it deep enough, 15-20 ft say, then the residual geothermal heat will melt it //   

       Why not insulate it, and use it as a source of cooling and water for garden irrigation in the summer ?
8th of 7, Sep 02 2014
  

       you're proposing MORE hole? It's just crazy enough to work.
bs0u0155, Sep 02 2014
  

       You wouldn't need to insulate it much: just cover it over for the summer.
FlyingToaster, Sep 02 2014
  

       <Soviet accent>   

       Ironically, the .su addresses still exist and work. Possibilities of off-reality bank accounts.
not_morrison_rm, Sep 02 2014
  

       Holes are excellent, there should be more of them.
pocmloc, Sep 03 2014
  

       Oddly enough, as a US Army medic I fill holes both on duty, and off...
MikeD, Sep 03 2014
  

       //I fill holes both on duty, and off...   

       Having gophers must be vexing.   

       //it is currently 1 million degrees   

       Thermometer on the wall in the big meeting room at work, the scale goes up to 140 degrees C. Is there something they're not telling me?
not_morrison_rm, Sep 03 2014
  

       Fall? Children would jump in.
4and20, Sep 04 2014
  

       I don't see why we need a hole-based infrastructure project. Humans are already equipped with a large number of holes, at least one of which can happily contain snow, pass it through a system of tubes and then out into the world as hot snow-melting piss.
calum, Sep 04 2014
  

       // Children would jump in //   

       Best put some nice sharp spikes in the bottom, then.
8th of 7, Sep 04 2014
  
      
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