MINNEAPOLIS — The Twin Cities is preparing for winter in the weeks before the season officially begins.
Minneapolis and Saint Paul Public Works are now gearing up, as both cities are in the middle of fall sweeps, clearing leaves off the streets before snow collects on top.
"We start our winter preparation in September when we have our snow plow operator training," said Joe Paumen, the director of transportation maintenance and repair for Minneapolis. "After that, we transition into street sweeping, which we're doing right now. We want to make sure that as many of the leaves as possible are off the street prior to the snowfall."
Lisa Hiebert, spokesperson for Saint Paul Public Works, says her team is currently covering 550 miles of residential streets,
"As you can imagine, once the snow falls, it's just harder to get up on and off the ground," said Hiebert.
Both Hiebert and Paumen say their departments will be ready when the snow falls eventually, and have learned from last year's severe winter.
"The biggest challenge in a city like Minneapolis is the cars that are parked on the street," said Paumen. "I think our snow operation plan stays the same with minor tweaks. We were able to try some things last year, like having parking ramps open when it got really bad in some of our more densely populated areas."
Saint Paul Public works said it's emphasizing communication this year, holding a first-of-its-kind public event to encourage residents to familiarize themselves with winter parking rules.
"We need that cooperation for people to move their cars and shovel their sidewalks," said Hiebert.
To learn more about Minneapolis winter park restrictions, click here.
For more information on Saint Paul snow emergency parking rules, click here.
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