Keep that shovel handy— avoid fines, help neighbors

BY DENNIS GEISINGER

“We’ve sent out about 2,000 warning letters this season,” said Minneapolis sidewalk inspector, Jack Murphy, about letters sent out to South Minneapolis residents about improper removal of snow and ice from public sidewalks. “I’m in the process of following up on some 800 incidences in my area east of 35W,” Murphy said, referring to the sidewalks he’s inspected that are in violation of the city snow and ice removal ordinance and complaints logged on Minneapolis’ 311 system.

According to city code, after a snowfall snow and ice on sidewalks must be removed within 24 hours for homes and duplexes and within four daytime hours for apartment and commercial buildings. Building owners whose property adjoins city streets are required to put down sand on sidewalks where there is snow and ice that can’t be removed. Free sand is available from the city at 6036 Harriet Ave. S. (on West 60th Street between Lyndale & Harriet); 1809 Washington St. NE (18th & Jefferson); 198 Aldrich Ave. N.; and East 27th Street, just east of Longfellow Avenue near the Public Works gate.

For a fee, community groups shovel snow for senior citizens and people with disabilities. Residents may call (612) 673-3004 for a list of these groups.
It’s against the law to shovel snow into streets or alleys. City residents are also required to shovel around garbage and recycling carts. If conditions have not been corrected after snow and ice removal warning letters have been sent, the city will issue a $102 citation the city will charge to have its personnel clear the sidewalk. Cost for the city to do a removal are three dollars per foot of sidewalk and $300 an hour. According to Murphy, he has issued five such citations this season.

A record number of home foreclosures has caused a high incidence of snow removal problems this year. Empty homes mean no one is around to clear sidewalks. There are 50 percent more homes in foreclosures this year than last in Minneapolis. If there are no homeowners to pay the snow removal costs, it will be forwarded to the bank that owns the foreclosed home.

Metro Transit clears many shelters but doesn’t shovel out stops, while some shelters are shoveled out by private companies that sell advertising on them. Private firms also handle ad-covered benches, which have a phone number you can call about snow or other problems.

Bike racks and bicycle rack areas are also shoveled by private firms.
According to figures available from the city, snow and ice control in Minneapolis is performed on 1,040 miles of streets, 57 miles of parkways, 3,700 alleys (about 400 miles), 100 dead end-streets and cul-de-sacs, 250 bridge sidewalks and 7 pedestrian bridges.

The average annual cost for Minneapolis’ snow and ice control effort is about $7 million. The budget is established to handle what are considered normal winter seasons. The City budget process is on a calendar year so it is sometimes hard to answer the question of how the city’s snow budget is doing in any particular season.

In a season or year with below average snowfalls, the majority of the budget is still required to cover the base cost for readiness. Public Works says that even with very little snowfall, it still incurs costs for base staffing and equipment and materials that it must have on hand.

Since 1999, a city resident named Taylor Carik has maintained a website containing a blank petition directed to the Minneapolis City Council that anyone can download and sign. According to the petition, “The city of Minneapolis should devise a more cost-effective and a more efficient snow removal policy than what is currently in place” and that “current snow emergency rules are hard to follow, the city overpays contracted towers for car removal without the city making money on the process, and streets are still not always cleaned.” The petition can be found at petitiononline.com/