Parking bans lead to thousands of tickets and tows in Minneapolis and St. Paul

Earlier this month, St. Paul restricted parking to one side of most residential streets to keep them passable during one of the snowiest winters on record.

Apparently, not everybody got the memo.

"I look down the side streets and cars are all over the place, on both sides of the streets," said Larry Miskowiec, who drives along Maryland Avenue east of I-35E four times a day as an auto parts delivery courier.

The capital city as of Wednesday had issued about 5,500 tickets and towed 638 vehicles since the rules allowing parking only on the north and west sides of residential streets went into effect March 10.

The one-sided parking restriction is to remain in place until April 15, but the city could lift the ban if conditions improve before then, Mayor Melvin Carter said when announcing the measure.

In addition to the mayor's news conference, the city sent out two email and text blasts to more than 130,000 residents and businesses who signed up to get snow emergency alerts. The city also set up a website that contains maps and information about the ban posted in English, Spanish, Hmong, Somali, Oromo and Karen.

"Our plow drivers are just as frustrated as residents with people who do not follow the parking ban rules," said Public Works spokeswoman Lisa Hiebert. "They can't get our bigger plows down some of the residential side streets because they are lined with cars. Even one or two cars parked across from each other can create a pinch point they can't get through and clear the streets."

Minneapolis enacted similar parking restrictions at the end of January, and through Tuesday there have been 16,593 tickets issued and 1,521 vehicles towed, said spokeswoman Sarah McKenzie.

The city limited parking to the odd-numbered side of most non-snow emergency routes to ensure emergency vehicles and school buses could navigate perilously narrow streets. The ban is in place until April 1.

Both cities instituted parking bans as the Twin Cities experienced its eighth-snowiest winter on record. As of Wednesday, 81.2 inches of snow had fallen in the metro area, according to the National Weather Service.