Snow drives road, parking pain across Minnesota

In Minneapolis, about a third of the street parking is going away Wednesday, and it's going to stay that way until the snow melts. In Rochester, Minn., a lack of clear parking rules is complicating snow removal.

Across Minnesota, officials are still working to keep drifted-over roads clear and get driving life back to normal following a record February snowfall. It's become a hassle especially in Minneapolis and Rochester, where snow, plows and cars are struggling to coexist — with more snow coming.

Minneapolis leaders on Tuesday said they need to put new winter parking restrictions in place because narrowing driving lanes are making driving difficult and threatening to block buses, fire trucks and emergency medical vehicles.

"Vehicles parked on the even side of non-snow emergency routes or on otherwise posted routes will be subject to ticket and tow," said Minneapolis public works director Robin Hutcheson as she announced the change at the city's public works garage near downtown.

The new rules go into effect at 8 a.m. on Wednesday and will remain in effect until April 1 or until city officials announce a lifting of the parking ban.

It's a rare but not unheard of situation for Minneapolis. Officials most recently instituted the same parking rules in 2014 and have done it a total of eight times since the legendary Halloween blizzard of 1991, according to Mike Kennedy, director of transportation maintenance and repair for the city.

Vehicle owners have already been subject to repeated snow emergencies in the city that have restricted parking, and thousands of cars have already been tagged and towed.

That can be costly. A parking ticket in Hennepin County is $32, but towing can add $138 or more and the impound lot storage fee is $18 per day.

Officials conceded the city's capacity to enforce the rules has been strained — the city's impound lot is already nearly full, they said. But Hutcheson said the city has just added more storage space for vehicles.

Asked about the hundreds of vehicles that remain illegally parked and plowed in on the city's streets already, officials said a pause in formal snow emergencies will let them go after the scofflaws more vigorously.

"We know in the Uptown, in the Dinkytown area and places like this, this is a huge imposition," Kennedy said. "We know that people have to walk blocks sometimes to find a place to park. But it's really critical that they do comply with the rules. We are serious and we are going to enforce to the best of our capability, and we hope people will pay attention to rules and avoid that ticket and tow."

Public safety officials, though, say they feel that it really is a matter of life and death. The normal 32-foot street widths have been reduced by snow to scarcely more than a single driving lane in many places. Assistant fire chief Bryan Tyner said blocking a 9-foot-wide firetruck from a blaze or an ambulance from someone with a sudden illness could have serious consequences.

"We do understand this is an [inconvenience], but this will allow us as emergency responders to respond to emergencies in your homes and your neighborhoods, to protect the safety of you, your family, your neighbors and the citizens of Minneapolis," Tyner told reporters. "This is not something that we take lightly, but I am going to ask, on behalf of the Minneapolis Fire Department, for your cooperation."

Rochester rules

Rochester doesn't have alternate side-parking restrictions, which made plowing especially difficult after a foot of snow fell on the region over the weekend.

With so many back-to-back snow events, city infrastructure manager Mike Burns said it's been a major problem on narrow streets in downtown Rochester.

"Quite a few of the streets, during our first snow event, we couldn't plow through because people would be parked on both sides of the street, and our equipment can't even fit through there," he said. "So, we'd have to come back with some kind of smaller rig just to punch a hole through there."

Burns said the city has been encouraging residents to move their cars before big snows to make sure plows can get through efficiently.

Southern Minnesota pain

In parts of southern and southeastern Minnesota, things were getting back to normal after some involuntary parking on highways as the blizzard hit.

Snow plows worked through the night to reopen Interstates 35 and 90 Tuesday morning, which were closed due to blowing and drifting snow.

I-35, I-90 reopen in southern Minnesota; stranded travelers head home

Tragedy hit on a rural road in Rice County, where Travis Pineur's truck had been stuck in the snow.

Another man had come to help, and the two of them were using a tow strap to try and pull out Pineur's truck. The hitch on the other vehicle broke and a piece of the hitch and trailer ball smashed through the rear windows of the topper and truck cab, and hit Pineur in the back of the head as he sat inside. He was taken to Hennepin Healthcare where he later died.

In Owatonna, Minn., stranded drivers were reunited with their vehicles Tuesday morning after spending the night at the local armory.

National Guard Capt. Joseph Howe said his battalion rescued more than 250 people over the past three days.

The experience, he added, underscored the importance of some basic safety guidelines.

"Make sure you stay in your car. Wait for help. It may take us hours to get there, but at least make that phone call and we'll get to you," he said. "Somebody will get to you. But don't try walking out in that weather ... you only get one shot."

While most people were rescued from their cars, Howe said at least one person was found attempting to find shelter on foot. It was only by chance that his team came across the man.

Light snow continued to spread eastward across parts of southeastern Minnesota into western Wisconsin late Tuesday afternoon as officials warned snow-covered roads could mask slippery conditions from the prior snowfall.

The Twin Cities National Weather Service office is forecasting a slight warmup with some sun the next two days followed by likely accumulating snow on Friday.

MPR News reporters Catharine Richert and Marianne Combs contributed to this report.