Inspired by this winter's punishing freeze-thaw-freeze cycle, Minneapolis is on course to study whether the city should take over sidewalk shoveling and ice clearing as soon as 2027.

On Thursday, a City Council committee unanimously approved a plan for the city to study the question, as well as other ways to improve conditions for the sidewalk-using public.

"This is the first step of many in advancing a plan for the city to assume this responsibility," said Council Member Robin Wonsley, who sponsored the idea with Council Member Aisha Chughtai.

Despite the broad support for the study — and the idea that sidewalks haven't been in great shape this winter — there isn't widespread agreement on the council that a city takeover makes sense, and some are skeptical.

"I'm concerned not just about the cost, but an operational challenge that I'm not sure the city is up for," said Council Member Andrew Johnson. "That said, I'm supportive of a study, and I'm outraged by how difficult it is to get around our sidewalks this winter."

In Minneapolis, as well as St. Paul, property owners are responsible for clearing the sidewalks in front of their homes and businesses across the vast majority of both cities. The notion of the city taking over those duties, at least partially, is a perennial topic, especially during gnarly winters, but the idea has gained particularly vocal support in Minneapolis in recent years.

The city studied the issue in 2018, but those pushing for the new study believe the previous examination lacked nuance and is now outdated. It also left many questions unanswered, such as: Would city crews need to fan out after every snow, or just bigger ones? And what about when snow melts, runs onto the sidewalk and freezes?

"The whole point is to get answers to these questions," Chughtai said.

The new study won't begin until the full City Council votes on it. On Thursday, the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee approved a directive to the mayor's office that lays out the task.

What the study will do

Figure out how a city-led shoveling and ice clearing program could be "fully implemented by winter of 2027." This would cover all 2,000-plus miles of city sidewalks, with estimates for costs and equipment and labor needs.
Look at how it might work to phase that program in, starting in 2024 with the city taking over clearing for the nearly 300 miles of sidewalks in the city's Pedestrian Priority Network, which encompasses the most heavily trafficked sidewalks. This should include different scenarios for clearing for different amounts of snowfall, and examine how such a program could target "aging communities," as well as areas with a history of non-compliance.
Explore how to set up a web-based interactive tool, accessible by the public, to monitor winter conditions on sidewalks and streets. Some council members are interested in how such a platform might be used to report problems.

The study, likely to be completed by the public works department, would be due June 22.

"The timeline is a bit challenging, but we'll do our best," Public Works Director Margaret Anderson Kelliher said.

Kelliher said her department is "neutral" on the question. "We're going into this very open," she said. "The obvious consideration is the cost."

What the 2018 study found

The 2018 study concluded that, in addition to start-up costs of at least $4.5 million to buy about 120 sidewalk plows, the annual cost would approach either $6 million or $20 million.

The range is based on two different scenarios for how much, or how little, snowfall would activate the army of perhaps 200 workers. The study questioned how easily such a workforce might be assembled.