Second consecutive Snow Emergency in Minneapolis beginning Monday, Dec. 13
Following the fifth largest snowfall in city history, Minneapolis officials have declared a second consecutive Snow Emergency beginning today, Dec. 13, 2010. A second Snow Emergency was needed following the weekend blizzard that dropped more than 17 inches of snow – the most since Halloween 1991 - on city streets. While crews were able to hit 95 percent of streets and 100 percent of alleys, there is still much work that needs to be done to make the streets safe and drivable for our emergency crews and the public.
City crews have been working around the clock since Friday evening, plowing and treating streets but were faced with the worst conditions in decades. Plows found themselves getting stuck in huge snow drifts, much like other drivers did during the height of the storm. In addition, residents were not able to dig their cars out to move them and comply with Snow Emergency parking rules, which made for even more difficult plowing conditions. In fact, the City waived the tow fee for all those who have been towed during the first Snow Emergency, recognizing that folks were trying to comply but simply couldn’t (towing fees will not be waived during the second Snow Emergency).
This second Snow Emergency will allow crews to thoroughly plow all the City streets and alleys, and get to any areas that may have been missed. Snow Emergency parking restrictions will take effect beginning at 9 p.m., Monday, so crews can plow more than 1,500 miles of streets and alleys. If your street or alley was missed by a snow plow, residents should call 311.
It is important to follow the Snow Emergency parking rules. If you can’t park in an area because it hasn’t been plowed yet, find another place to park that complies with the parking rules. Working together, City crews can deliver the high-quality plowing services that residents demand.
Snow Emergency parking rules
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Tonight, Dec. 13, 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. (Day 1)
Do not park on EITHER side of a Snow Emergency route until the street is fully plowed. -
Tuesday, Dec. 14, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Day 2)
Do not park on the EVEN side of a non-Snow Emergency route, or on EITHER side of a parkway until the street is fully plowed. -
Wednesday, Dec. 15, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Day 3)
Do not park on the ODD side of a non-Snow Emergency route until the street is fully plowed.
For more information on Snow Emergencies in Minneapolis, visit www.MinneapolisMN.gov/Snow.
Spreading the word about Snow Emergencies
The City of Minneapolis uses a number of ways to help folks learn about and follow the Snow Emergency parking rules. We advise drivers to put several of these tools to use, not just one or two. The more ways they have to learn about a Snow Emergency, the less likely they’ll be towed because they didn’t know one was declared.
- Call the hotline - By calling the automated (612) 348-SNOW hotline, folks can find out if a Snow Emergency has been declared. The hotline will include information on parking restrictions that drivers need to follow to avoid tickets and tows. The hotline includes information in Spanish, Somali, and Hmong.
- Check out the City's website - Go to www.MinneapolisMN.gov/Snow to find out whether a Snow Emergency has been declared and for a wealth of information on Snow Emergencies in many languages. Also, check out the street lookup, which lets you put in an address or a neighborhood to see where you can park during a Snow Emergency.
- Mail - Every fall, Snow Emergency information is mailed to every household in Minneapolis.
- Phone alerts - Minneapolis uses a phone alert system to notify residents when Snow Emergencies are declared. It is an automated notification system that can place thousands of calls per hour. go to Snow Emergency Phone Alerts to sign up.
- E-mail alerts - You can sign up to get Snow Emergency alerts automatically e-mailed to you. Go to E-Mail and Text Message Snow Alerts for more details.
- The media - News releases are sent to the media so TV, radio stations and other news outlets can inform their viewers, listeners and readers that a Snow Emergency is in effect.
- On Cable - Tune in to cable channels 14 and 79. These channels will have information in several languages when a Snow Emergency is declared.
- Facebook – "Like" Minneapolis Snow Emergency on Facebook. Go to www.facebook.com/MinneapolisSnowEmergency.
- Twitter - twitter.com/minneapolissnow. If you have a Twitter account, just follow us. Both the Twitter and Facebook pages will tell fans and followers when a Snow Emergency is declared.
Published Dec. 13, 2010