St. Paul says fewer violations during snow emergency

St. Paul city officials say they have towed and ticketed fewer cars than normal during the latest snow emergency.

Kari Spreeman, a spokesperson for the city of St. Paul's public works department said 700 fewer cars were ticketed and 100 fewer cars were towed than what typically happens during the first phase of a snow emergency.

Spreeman said two earlier snow emergencies have helped drivers become more aware of where they should park.

"Now that we've been through a few snow emergencies already this season, people are a little bit more on alert to know when it starts snowing and to be in tune with the city to see if we're going to call a snow emergency. I think that probably helped," Spreeman said.

St. Paul city officials were criticized for the condition of the roads after a snowstorm earlier this month. St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman reassigned the city's street maintenance operations manager and committed to spend more money on snow removal equipment in the future.

"Sometimes Mother Nature is better to us than other times," Spreeman said. "Certainly the cold, frigid temperatures made it difficult for the salt and the sand to help out with the first snow emergency. But this time around, we are getting a little bit of help from old Mother Nature."