This winter, Minneapolitans were subjected to the usual snowstorms and their requisite snow emergencies. But residents were in for a surprise when it came to snow removal rules: a total even-side parking ban for the second half of the snow season, ostensibly implemented because emergency vehicles were having trouble navigating narrowed streets.

Whenever the city does something annoying, it’s tempting to blame it on some sort of nefarious plot, ulterior motive or government screw-up. When the snow starts piling up on the roads, a whole slew of angry speculations directed at our fair cities public services come to mind. Sometimes such complaints and innuendos are warranted, and sometimes they’re not. Here, we examine some of the most common accusations and try to get to the bottom of the issue, with a little help from Mike Kennedy, Director of Transportation Maintenance and Repair for the Minneapolis Department of Public Works.
This is Minnesota! We get snow every year. Why is this one so much worse?

It’s true that total snowfall this year has been relatively unremarkable; according to the State Climatology Office at the Department of Natural Resources, precipitation totals have been roughly average this year. The issue isn’t totals, though, but accumulation. Kennedy says temperatures have been low enough that snow hasn’t had a chance to melt and evaporate between snowstorms. Plows push snow onto boulevards, and there’s a limit to how high they can stack it before it starts swallowing sidewalks. This year, that capacity was exceeded. “It’s simply a matter of too much snow on the ground,” Kennedy says.

But we’ve never had a ban like this before! Actually, the even-side parking ban is a pre-arranged last-ditch measure in the city’s snow removal plan. According to Kennedy, when the plan was implemented in 1983, the even-side ban actually went into effect at the beginning of the season and lasted until April 1, regardless of weather conditions. City officials have since made it a discretionary measure. Kennedy says the ban was last invoked in February 2001 and has been used roughly once every five years.

It’s Tim Pawlenty’s fault! He cut state aid to city governments!

Kennedy says snow and ice operations are funded through the city’s General Fund, with 70 percent coming from property taxes and some revenues from state gas taxes. Both of these revenue streams have declined in the recession, as property tax collections plummet with property values and consumers drive less to save money. State government aid to the fund has seen large cuts since 2003, and snow and ice removal hasn’t been spared; the department has seen almost $1.4 million of their budget disappear, almost 16 percent of the budget.

Still, Kennedy says the department has been able, so far, to find creative ways to do more with less. One strategy has been to move some 54 formerly full-time plow drivers into a reserve force that is only called on when needed. These reserve workers are paid the same as unemployment, but retain their benefits. Kennedy says the department has also been training drivers of other city heavy vehicles, like garbage and sewer trucks, as backup plow drivers. The net result is reduced costs without reduced service, Kennedy says. “The parking ban has nothing to do with budget cuts. No matter how many plows we have, there’s still just too much snow.”

The city screwed up with the Christmas storm! It all “snowballed” from there!

This year the Twin Cities got a very white Christmas, with major snowstorms dumping 9.4 inches of snow on the city in two days. So did city officials bungle handling the storm? Kennedy doesn’t think so. He stresses that the long, slow moving storm was handled to the best of their ability. While the centers of the streets were plowed constantly during the storm, the city decided to wait until the storm ended to declare a snow emergency and plow parking lanes. This was because of the holiday, and because many residents would be out of town, unable to move their vehicles. This would have been a good call, except that overnight the snow turned to rain and then refroze, forming three to six inches of ice on roadways. In January, temperatures dropped dramatically and “the ice got bulletproof,” says Kennedy. “The Christmas storm was a factor, but it had nothing to do with the misperception of late plowing.”
Those greedy jerks in city hall are just trying to make a few quick bucks! The ban is all about revenue from parking tickets.

Tickets for violating the parking ban are $42. With citations coming in from all over the city, this has to add up to a big pot of money, right? Not so, according to Matt Laible, Communications Officer for the city. The city actually only receives about half of any given ticket; the rest goes to the state, he says. After paying the costs of enforcement, like towing and police salaries, there’s very little money left over. Any leftovers go into the general fund. “This isn’t anything that has to do with revenue generation,” he says. “We’re doing this to make sure our emergency vehicles can do their job, and it wouldn’t work if we didn’t enforce it.”