MINNEAPOLIS — Winter parking restrictions in Minneapolis are putting parking at a premium.
The city is banning parking on the even side of city streets until April 1. The restriction is in place so emergency crews can make their way through the streets that are now narrow because of all the snow.
They say the ban eliminates about a third of all available on-street parking in the city. That's about 70,000 spots.
"It's really tough finding a spot. I mean, there's traffic and there's a lot of congestion even with the two sides of the road, with the one side now it's made it all that much tougher," said Jake Ekholm, who works for a snow clearing business.
He and his coworkers have to navigate and find parking on streets throughout the city as they make their way to their customers.
"Just getting through the streets is a lot easier, but parking is tough," he said of the restrictions.
Tami O'hara owns Wave Salon on 35th and Hennepin. She says she's worried that the decrease in parking availability will make it harder for her customers to get to her business.
"You used to be able to park on that side, now you can't," she said as she drove around the streets by her salon. "Probably had to go around the block a couple times. Throughout the day it gets worse."
Not all Minneapolis residents are concerned about the restrictions.
"We've got just enough people with off-street parking that it's not too terrible actually," said Chris Pope, who lives in the Lynnhurst neighborhood and works in Linden Hills. "I'm OK with some of the inconvenience, because it's beautiful and it's Minnesota, so this is part of what we're about really."
For more information on winter parking restrictions in Minneapolis, click here.