I live near St. Paul's winter parking trial. Here's what I'm seeing.
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A St. Paul snowplow clears a street in the Midway neighborhood, where the city is piloting new winter parking rules. Photo: Kyle Stokes/Axios
🔎 It's Kyle — but this winter, call me "The St. Paul Snowplow Stalker."
St. Paul is experimenting with new winter parking rules in my neighborhood, and I've been watching closely to see whether the experiment is working.
Why it matters: In theory, St. Paul's pilot program could end the snow emergency as we know it, more quickly plowing neighborhood streets that currently have to wait until long after the snow stops falling.
- The catch: Residents in the pilot area can park on only one side of the street, and they must move their cars to the opposite curb every week — even when it's not snowing.
Zoom in: I live only a few blocks from the Midway neighborhood's pilot area, where residents have been leaving one curb open since January.
What I found: The St. Paul Snowplow Stalker invites you to witness practically bare pavement on a city side street 11 hours before a snow emergency is declared.
- At 10am, I trudged over to the pilot area and spotted plows at work.
- At that time, my street hadn't been touched. As a "day route" on St. Paul's snow emergency map, my street wasn't due to be plowed for another day.
Flashback: I also spotted plows moving through the Cathedral Hill pilot zone hours after the Feb. 18-19 snowfall, which surprised the metro with over 7 inches of snow.
- By the time St. Paul declared a snow emergency, much of the snow had already melted.
What they're saying: Unlike under normal rules, "we didn't have to wait till 9pm, when people move their cars off the streets," St. Paul Public Works spokesperson Lisa Hiebert told Axios.
- This fast response has meant fewer axle-rattling ruts and less ice buildup on pilot streets.
And no, Hiebert said, plows aren't giving pilot-area streets higher priority; they still clear larger "arterial" and "collector" streets first.
Between the lines: After years of fielding complaints about poorly plowed streets, city officials are effectively "calling the bluff of the kvetchers," writes MinnPost columnist Bill Lindeke.
- "If you're mad about impossibly caked ice on the streets, be willing to move your car each week."
Friction point: The trade-off for faster street clearing has been parking annoyances.
- While most residents have caught on quickly, both pilot areas include commercial nodes that draw visitors who are often unaware of the different parking rules, Hiebert said.
- An example: The city has issued a slew of tickets during shows at the nearby Turf Club, in the pilot area on Sherburne Avenue. The city responded by adding new on-street signage and is advising businesses on how to inform customers.
My thought bubble: Parking is rarely a challenge on my street, but taking St. Paul's pilot citywide would require plans for streets where garages and off-street lots aren't as plentiful.
Case in point: The city reverted one collector street, Thomas Avenue, back to normal rules after hearing an earful from neighbors, Hiebert said.
- The street already had one-sided street parking year-round, so the pilot program effectively made it a no-parking zone every other week.
The other side: Between this hassle and the current snow emergency system, Minneapolis officials are fine with the devil they've got.
- "We believe a season-long loss of parking capacity — especially in our residential neighborhoods — would outweigh any potential benefit" to one-sided winter parking rules, city spokesperson Allen Henry told Axios.
- Though Minneapolis has switched "temporarily" to one-sided street parking in extraordinary cases — including in the messy winter of 2022-23 — Henry said current snow emergency rules do allow crews to clear streets.
What's next: The pilot runs through April 11, and city officials plan to survey residents and businesses in the pilot area in May.