MINNEAPOLIS — Both Minneapolis and St. Paul have now declared a snow emergency, as city crews prepare to clear significant amounts of snow from the streets.
MINNEAPOLIS
In Minneapolis, current winter parking restrictions will be suspended starting at 4 p.m. Wednesday. Drivers are urged to move their vehicles off of Snow Emergency Routes by 9 p.m., which is when snow emergency parking rules will take effect:
- 9 p.m. Wednesday through 8 a.m. Thursday: No parking on any Snow Emergency Route until 8 a.m. or until the street is fully plowed.
- 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday: No parking on even number side of non-Snow Emergency Routes until that side of the street is fully plowed; also no parking on either side of a parkway until that parkway is fully plowed.
- 8 a.m. to 8 pm. Friday: No parking on the odd side of non-Snow Emergency Routes until that side of the street is fully plowed.
Winter parking restrictions will resume at 8 p.m. Friday.
City officials say crews will need to plow "more than 1,000 miles of streets as wide as possible," which adds up to about 3,200 total "lane miles" of streets, or the approximate distance from Minneapolis to Anchorage, Alaska.
Minneapolis has opened hundreds of parking spaces for people who need a place to move their cars:
- Farmer’s Market Lot (225 East Lyndale Avenue) — 309 spaces
- Basilica Lot (13 North 17th Street) — 183 spaces
- Vineland Ramp (727 Vineland Place) — 671 spaces
- 7 Points lot in Uptown (1375 West 31st Street)
- Mosaic Art Parking Ramp (1340 Lagoon Avenue)
- Salvation Army Lot (601 North 4th Street) — 332 spaces
- Lyn-Lake Lot (2940 Garfield Avenue) — 118 spaces
ST. PAUL
In St. Paul, snow emergency restrictions begin at 9 p.m. Wednesday.
- Starting 9 pm. Wednesday: No parking on any streets or signs of streets marked as Night Plow Routes.
- Starting 8 a.m. Thursday: No parking on any Day Plow Routes (which are not marked with signs).
Because of the forecasted duration of the storm, "crews will plow as many Night and Day Plow Routes as possible but will complete all of the routes," the city said on its website. A second snow emergency will then go into effect starting Thursday night.
- Starting 9 p.m. Thursday through 7 a.m. Friday: No parking on Night Plow Routes.
- Starting 8 a.m. Friday: No parking on Day Plow Routes.
City crews will continue work to clear the remaining streets over the weekend. The city says "ticketing and towing operations" will continue through the weekend.
St. Paul has opened several city-owned parking ramps for free parking through Saturday morning:
- Smith Ramp (145 Smith Street)
- Kellogg Underground Ramp (129 Kellogg Boulevard)
- Lawson Ramp (10 West 6th Street)
- Lowertown Ramp (316 Jackson Street)
- 7A Ramp (13 West Exchange Street)
- Robert Street Ramp (95 East 7th Street)
- Block 19 Ramp (145 East 7th Street)
- World Trade Center Ramp (477 Cedar Street)
OTHER CITIES
Check out the links below for other metro area communities that observe snow emergency plowing schedules to find information on the plowing times and parking restrictions.
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