With respect to funding, shifting existing resources that are being used inefficiently should permit snow clearing on the trail. Within 24 hours after storms end, all of the parking lots along the GWP are typically scoured clear of snow and treated. Since it is the middle of winter and recreational drivers are few when the area is inundated with snow, the only people using the parking lots are the taxi drivers using the port-a-johns. Yet every square inch of the lots is cleared. The snow from the the parking lots and the Parkway is typically dumped on the path. In some years when there have been long periods below freezing, snow and ice remain on the path for a month, especially in shadowed areas like overpasses. A more practical, useful approach would be to first clear the path, since there are toilets all over that taxi drivers can use, but winter cyclists have almost no practical alternatives. One mini truck with a snow plow could clear and salt the MVT in about as much time as is spent clearing the parking lots.
