Monday, February 11, 2013
After a good snowfall, citizens always have something to say—good or bad—about the job the city and county does with plowing. So what do you think?
In the little town of Richfield, when two or more inches of snow falls the city's plows hit the roads. Or do they? While I was perusing the City of Richfield's Facebook page last week, I stumbled upon a lively comment accusing the city of a sub-par plowing performance. "Seriously if this is what the City calls cleaning up our streets they ought to be ashamed of themselves," the citizen wrote. See the full comment in the photo box above. This reminded me of a post I received on Richfield Patch's Facebook page Jan. 28. "Plows? No plows in site in our neighborhood," Derek Brown wrote. "I hope they come and cleanup the slush before tomorrow night or we will have several inches of ice!" I've personally never given much thought to this until now…
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
St. Louis Park plow drivers have not gone out nearly as often as last year.
The cost of snowplowing in St. Louis Park is down 88 percent this winter, as mild conditions have drastically reduced the workload. Last year's record-setting winter saw the city rack up a plowing bill of nearly $370,000 between Nov. 13, 2010—the date of the season's first snowfall—and Jan. 6, 2011. This season, that number is down to about $44,000. Crews have only been sent out twice this winter, and departmental overtime hours are down from 788 to 133—a savings of roughly $24,000 alone. “We’re not putting down much salt. We’re hardly paying any overtime," said Mark Hanson, the operations superintendent in the city's public works department. Some drivers count on overtime pay as a main part of their salaries, said plow driver Mike Okey, …
Friday, January 7, 2011
Did you know an average plow holds 10 to 12 tons of salt?
Earlier this week, St. Louis Park Patch took you inside the world of snow plowing, telling you about the life of a snow plow driver and showing you the ins and outs of a plow. To me, it was fascinating to learn so much about a profession that is largely done while most of us are fast asleep (Jeff Wolff, the snow plow driver I tagged along with, routinely starts at 2 a.m.). I tried to put as much interesting information as I could into the story and video, but alas, there were some tidbits that just didn’t make it. So, I decided to put together a brief list of other interesting things I picked up along the way:
Monday, December 20, 2010
More than three inches of snow has accumulated in St. Louis Park Monday.
With more than three inches of snow on the ground in St. Louis Park, parking is currently banned on city streets. The city automatically bans street parking anytime snowfall reaches that threshold. Parking can resume once streets are plowed curb to curb. For more on St. Louis Park winter regulations, visit the city's website.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
More than 15 inches of snow fell in St. Louis Park over the weekend, causing many road woes.
With snow drifts piled up across the metro area and many roads still remaining snow covered and slick due to the weekend blizzard, St. Louis Park posted a list of frequently asked questions regarding the city's snow removal plans and policies on its website. Addressed is why some city streets have not been plowed curb to curb (Answer: The medians simply can't handle all the snow) and what to do if snow was plowed into your driveway (Answer: You're on your own). On a related note, I spoke with Mayor Jeff Jacobs yesterday, and he said he was impressed with the job done by St. Louis Park's plow drivers. The mayor added that he felt St. Louis Park streets were better then roads in other nearby cities, including Minneapolis. What do you think? …
Monday, December 13, 2010
The ban is automatic anytime three inches or more of snow accumulates.
Update (12/13): The city's parking ban has been lifted, meaning normal street parking can resume. Update (12/12): The city's parking ban remains in effect until a street has been plowed curb to curb, at which point parking is permitted again. With the snowfall looking to have stopped, normal parking should be resuming across St. Louis Park in the next 24 hours. (12/11): If your car is on a St. Louis Park street, now would be the time to move it. The city's automatic parking ban is in effect because more than three inches of snow has accumulated. In the metro area, nearly a foot of snow has already fallen and more is expected today in one of the worst Twin Cities blizzards in years. Once streets are plowed to the curb, cars may return. For …
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Street parking ban automatic if there are three inches or more of snow on the ground.
Last weekend's snowfall, which dumped nearly a foot of snow in parts of the Twin Cities metro area, brought with it a big reminder to St. Louis Park residents of road regulations during plowing season. In St. Louis Park, those regulations are a bit different than in other cities. Just ask St. Louis Park resident Scott Ross, who moved his car into his garage on 29th Avenue West Friday night, as weather forecasters predicted a large snowfall. "It doesn't bother me too much," he said of getting the car tucked away in advance. Unlike municipalities that declare snow emergencies after large snowfalls, thus restricting parking to one side of the street or the other as plows come through, St. Louis Park has an automatic street-parking ban. As …
Mike B.
7:38 pm on Tuesday, February 19, 2013
I thought Minneapolis was bad... St. Paul seems even worse re: snowplowing. Some of the side streets in St. Paul are still, on 2/19, almost impassable from the ruts, particularly in the Macalester College area. Add that to the atrocious pavement itself on many streets,and it's a wonder cars aren't stranded because their suspensions collapsed driving St. Paul's streets. Chris Coleman says "Come to… more ›