St. Paul launches trial that could change the snow emergency forever
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St. Paul has posted signs in a 15-square-block area of Highland Park alerting residents to a pilot project. Photo: Kyle Stokes/Axios
St. Paul is launching a limited experiment with one-sided street parking this weekend.
Why it matters: If the experiment works, it could lead to big changes in the Capital City's approach to clearing streets during snow emergencies.
- But residents will also have to move their cars to the opposite curb every weekend, even when it's not snowing.
The big picture: St. Paul's idea has the potential to end the game of "musical cars" that generations of Minnesotans have endured during snow emergencies. The parking rules are designed to open streets to plows after winter storms.
- St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said he thinks this model is overdue for a refresh, given that it comes with costly overtime spikes for the city and burdensome tickets and tows for residents.
The intrigue: Public works officials think crews could clear the city's 550 miles of residential streets faster if one curb is always free of cars and they don't have to wait for the declaration of an emergency to roll the plows.
Catch up quick: St. Paul's regular snow emergency rules require some drivers to move their cars twice so plows can get to each side of the street.
How it works: The pilot project begins Sunday in two zones: roughly 1.5 square miles of both the Highland Park and Payne-Phalen neighborhoods.
- The first week, the city will limit parking to the even side of the street.
- The following week, cars must move to the odd side of the street. Drivers will have from 3-9pm every Sunday to complete the move.
- The experiment runs through April 12 — and if a winter storm hits, people properly parked in the zones don't need to move their cars as the city's regular rules don't apply.
Zoom in: Workers will initially leave flyers on vehicles that don't follow the temporary rules — but starting Feb. 17, they will start ticketing and towing cars.
- Accessible parking spaces will pose a challenge. During the pilot, the city plans to place temporary signs on the opposite curb.
Stunning stat: City officials say Duluth already follows similar rules and issued just 150 parking tickets in 2022-23, the state's third-snowiest winter on record.
- Compare that with St. Paul, which issued more than 20,000 snow emergency tickets that season.
Friction point: Certain neighborhoods already have a reputation as being difficult for parking, even with both sides of the street open.
- However, after polling plow drivers, public works director Sean Kershaw told reporters in April that "there really weren't that many [areas] that had not enough parking. We can solve for those."
What we're watching: Whether St. Paul gets any snow to test this new approach before spring. So far, we haven't had much.