Reading Officials Remind Residents To Move Hoops For Plow Trucks

READING, MA — With snow plow trucks being pressed into service once again, the Town of Reading is reminding residents to pull their portable basketball hoops out of the roadway in order to clear a path for the trucks

According to town officials, the hoops left in the roadway often are at the same height as the truck's mirrors, leading to trucks crashing into the hoops. This causes damage to the trucks and the hoops.

"(Truck) drivers can't see the hoops, especially at night and with the snow and sleet, and only discover it when they drive into it, usually breaking a mirror," a spokesman for the Town of Reading said in a statement. "It's dangerous to operate these vehicles without a side mirror and so they often go back to the DPW garage to get it replaced. This ties up the vehicle and means the route takes longer to clear."

The Reading official said the problem does not occur just once or twice during a snowstorm, but dozens of times.

Residents are asked to put their hoops at least 10 feet off the side of the road, and back even farther if possible.

The town reminds residents that if a truck hits a hoop that is in the road, the town will not replace the broken hoop.