St. Paul takes 'wait and see' approach to issuing further parking restrictions

As Minneapolis cracks down on winter parking, crews in St. Paul are also coming up with a different plan to tackle the snow, making sure first responders can reach residents.

Officials say city leaders are taking a “wait and see” approach on possible parking restrictions.

In St. Paul, Julia Gauthier is clearing her sidewalks next to her street yet again.

“This month in particular, the St. Paul side streets have been pretty bad,” she said.

St. Paul Assistant Fire Chief Matt Simpson said the city is taking a different approach than Minneapolis.

“As a fire department and as a city, we’re working with Public Works to make sure the streets are passable,” he said.

Rather than placing parking bans through the spring, St. Paul will take street concerns and accessibility for emergency vehicles on a case-by-case basis. A temporary parking ban could be implemented if a crew needs to clear a street.

“If it gets to the point where the city needs to initiate a parking ban, that decision will be made,” Simpson said.

Gauthier said she doesn’t think the Minneapolis plan seems too bad, but other neighbors said they side with St. Paul.

“We’re trying to not overreact and initiate that parking ban unnecessarily when you can make sure they can get through,” Simpson said.

For more information on the parking rules, click here.