St. Paul testing alternate-side winter parking rules
St. Paul Public Works Director Sean Kershaw explained why residential plowing doesn’t start immediately under the current snow‑emergency system and said the city will test two alternate‑side parking models beginning in January to let plows reach neighborhood streets sooner. The city’s existing phases begin at 9 p.m. (Night Plow) and 8 a.m. the next day (Day Plow) to give drivers time to clear main routes and residents time to move cars; the pilot, running January through mid‑April with weekly side‑switching, keeps one side clear to speed residential plowing and was lightly tested last winter.
📌 Key Facts
- Current snow‑emergency phases start at 9 p.m. (Night Plow) and 8 a.m. (Day Plow) to allow notice and rest between driver shifts
- Pilot alternate‑side parking will run January to mid‑April with weekly side changes, keeping 3/4 of roadway clear at any time
- Program is based on plow driver input, mirrors approaches in Duluth, and was trialed last winter but snowfall limited data
📊 Relevant Data
St. Paul tows between 700 and 900 cars and issues about 2,200 tickets for each snow emergency.
Twin Cities snow emergency alerts fall short for non-English speakers — Sahan Journal
From 2010 to 2020, St. Paul's White population decreased from 60.1% to 48.8%, Asian population increased from 15% to 19.2%, Black population increased to 16.5%, and Hispanic population increased to 9.7%.
Minorities are now the majority in St. Paul, census shows — Twin Cities Pioneer Press
Non-English speaking residents in St. Paul, including immigrant communities, experience a greater financial impact from snow emergency tickets and tows due to language barriers.
Twin Cities snow emergency alerts fall short for non-English speakers — Sahan Journal