Getting Ready for Next Winter

This winter was too much, wasn’t it? For many in Summit-University, the burden was greater than you may imagine.

We know that February was a record-breaking month, and the city handled it as well as they could. They pulled together extra resources and used alternative resources creatively to address the overwhelming amounts of snow. That said, climate change is creating more extreme weather conditions and considerable thought will have to go into plans to manage snow and make sure the community is safe and accessible for everyone. We also need to make sure that when restrictions are created, the rules are predictable and easy to understand for everyone in Saint Paul.

We can anticipate that some people may not have been able to access the information needed to avoid tickets or tows, and those people are some of the most likely to be burdened by those costs. The parking ban map was only available online, and it was subject to change without notice. That means that people had to be able to check in regularly to park without issue.

Saint Paul issued over $1,000,000 in tickets during the snow emergencies alone, and over $650,000 in tows (not including lot fees). The impact of the parking ban is yet to be shared with us, as that was tracked by the police department, but these numbers are enough to tell us that we need to be absolutely sure that neighbors aren’t hit with this cost just because they can’t access information.

Looking ahead to 2020, we also want people to remember that everyone in the community doesn't get around by car. A large number of people use other means of transportation. Making sure people can safely move around the community falls on residents and business owners for the most part, so we want everyone to do their part to make sure the neighborhood is accessible. We encourage neighbors to help each other out! We will be organizing interested neighborhood blocks to create agreements to work together to clear sidewalks of snow, find resources for elders, adopt storm drains and fire hydrants, and get out the word about parking restrictions. We know that our communities are Saint Paul’s greatest resource, and we can accomplish so much working together.

Read an article from the Pioneer Press here:

https://www.twincities.com/2019/03/23/for-st-paul-some-lessons-from-a-tough-winter/