Who’s Up for Sneckdowns?

With Blizzard Mania ’16 reaching a fever pitch up and down the Eastern Seaboard, it looks like we’re in for the first serious sneckdowns of the season.

For the uninitiated, sneckdowns are neckdowns created by driving patterns in melting snow or slush. Sneckdowns highlight excess asphalt that could be repurposed for streetscape improvements to slow motor vehicle traffic and make walking safer.

A little backstory: The sneckdown concept goes back decades. In 2001, Transportation Alternatives wrote: “[T]he next time someone tells you that you can’t have a neckdown on that corner or this corner because there’s not enough room, show them what happens every year when it snows.” Streetfilms’ Clarence Eckerson Jr. documented “naturally occurring neckdowns” in 2006, Streetsblog founding editor Aaron Naparstek coined the hashtag in 2013, and the international sneckdown craze was born.

Use the #sneckdown hashtag to share your photos on social media (find tips from Clarence on page 3 of this PDF). If you’d like to see your pics on Streetsblog — wherever you are — please include a location in your tweet or Instagram. We’ll be on the lookout first thing Monday.