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Dear Neighbor,
This quick update is all about snow.
Snow Emergency and Continued Efforts
As you know, last week our city saw a significant snowfall that resulted in disruptions to streets and alleys throughout the city. Approximately 15 inches of snow fell across the city within 36 hours, making that storm the 14th largest snow event in Minneapolis since the 1880’s. The DNR has named this storm “The Big Mess”!
City crews deployed as the snow began to accumulate, with the goal of keeping arterial streets accessible to emergency vehicles. Many constituents saw non-traditional vehicles (garbage trucks, water trucks) actually outfitted with plows deployed to assist! A Snow Emergency was declared beginning Wednesday evening. The decision to delay was made to avoid declaring two snow emergencies over the length of the storm, with the goal of increasing compliance and reducing confusion. This amount of snow would take several passes on even our busiest streets, so not moving cars at first would allow trucks to make more inroads on the side streets when possible. I want to assure everyone that plowing started immediately and continuously, with every large vehicle the city could harness to assist the effort.
Since last week and through the weekend, I have been working to make requests to address specific problem streets and areas that were potentially missed. Some were missed due to vehicles not being moved and thus city equipment was unable to pass. Anyone who has called me or my office has helped play a role in that direction and we appreciate the information. I encourage everyone to also call or email 311 with these concerns as that is the best way to collect data on service delivery and quality of service during these events. You can also still continue to contact my office and my staff will get your concerns forwarded on to the correct department. Please know that I’ve received hundreds of calls and emails. We are working our way through the list and doing our best to return the calls and messages.
Here is where things stand since the Snow Emergency parking concluded:
- With the start of milder temperatures, we have seen some of the snow packed streets begin to loosen and pavement showing through. In the coming days, we will continue the clearing efforts and crews will be revisiting all of the residential roadways.
- Corner clearing is still underway and should be completed in the normal 10 day schedule that follows a snow emergency.
- We have been working on some very narrow corridors in a “post and plow” mode- this means posting no parking in certain areas, giving vehicles time to move, then citing/towing if necessary and going in to widen the roadway. It is a long process that is especially difficult in some areas such as the West Maka Ska neighborhood.
- Metro Transit is responsible for snow removal at all bus stops with Metro Transit-owned customer waiting shelters, but it is not able to clear snow from all of its 12,000 bus stops across the region and asks nearby properties and businesses to assist in helping to clear them. To report a persistent problem, call their Customer Relations at 612-373-3333 or complete an online comment form.
- I brought Public Works and Regulatory Services staff with me last night to the West Maka Ska neighborhood meeting to hear and respond directly to resident feedback. We are looking to review this response citywide as we anticipate and plan for more severe weather patterns in the future, broadly speaking.
Our office received enormous amounts of feedback from residents asking the City to institute a one-sided parking restriction across the city to open up more space on residential streets, especially Bryant Ave S, for vehicle access. I’ve communicated these recommendations to both the Mayor’s office and Public Works department, who are still evaluating it. In the past, one-sided parking was required by law to stay in place until April 1. Luckily, this law has changed and we could utilize this on a more temporary basis.
That said, there are some areas of our city where that decision brings significant hardship. This decision will be rooted in public safety and access for emergency vehicles, though it will benefit safe roadway travel for everyone. They will look to make a decision following the conclusion of their corner clearing efforts. I will continue to advocate for at least some single-sided parking restrictions on specific streets in our ward that need it the most. If that happens, you will see temporary signage installed on those specific streets.
Separate Topic: Municipal Sidewalk Clearing Program
Many residents have reached out to the City Council regarding a potential municipal sidewalk clearing program. Five years ago Public Works staff presented the Council with what it would take to build a sidewalk clearing program and expressed significant hurdles, financially and practically, to getting a program operational. Financially, a citywide program would cost a minimum of $20 million annually. A smaller program has been brought up that would cover snow removal only during large snow events (typically 4 inches or more) that would cost closer to $5-6 million. These estimates were from five years ago and would be significantly more in 2023.
The practical difficulties are even more significant. Regardless of scale, any sidewalk clearing program by the city could not guarantee clearing down to the pavement or cover the full width of sidewalks. That means residents would still be required to remove snow down to the pavement, remove ice and remove additional snow that accumulates during lengthy snow events.
Our Public Works department does not currently have the staffing to provide either level of service and would need to contract this work out. This would mean building out an entire new service industry network. The 2018 feasibility study showed that there are not enough providers in the metro area to all together provide this service. That would make providing this service- or any reliable clearing operation of this magnitude- near impossible for at least several years, even if fully funded. Public Works is taking a fresh look at this again this year.
Ensuring that residents of all ability levels can safely navigate our city is incredibly important. It’s also vital that we, as elected leaders, engage in fully transparent policy discussions. A citywide sidewalk clearing program is not currently a practical reality. I am committed to engaging in these conversations further and looking at real solutions to improve accessibility in our city.
Regards,
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