Hundreds ticketed, towed during Twin Cities snow emergencies

Hundreds of people across the Twin Cities are picking up their cars from impound lots after leaving them on the street during city snow emergencies.

“I left my car outside last night and didn’t know there was a snow emergency,” Zachary Peterson, U of M student, said. Zachary Peterson was headed out the door to the University of Minnesota when he realized he wasn’t taking his car to class.

“I ended up having to hop on a train and do it that way. I was late. It screwed up my whole routine unfortunately,” Peterson said. Peterson’s car took a trip to the impound lot.

He just moved to St. Paul and said he didn’t know about the snow emergencies, but it’s a pricey mistake.

“$275 plus a parking ticket. As a college student that takes a little bit of a toll,” Peterson said.

In St. Paul, once a snow emergency is declared, the ticketing and towing starts that day at 9 p.m.

It lasts for 96 hours while the city plows clear the roads.

“Really the base complaint that we hear for emergencies is that people didn’t move their cars. So be a good neighbor and move your car,” said Lisa Hiebert, a St. Paul public information officer.

The city was busy all day, with 251 vehicles towed and 849 ticketed in St. Paul.

City officials said if drivers don’t move their cars, it becomes a problem for everyone.

“If the cars are parked, the plows will come down the middle of the street and it just pushes the snow into the parking lane. So that makes it harder for people to get out,” Hiebert said.

Keeping an eye on the signs could save you.

Night plow signs are on the streets to tell drivers where to park, but day plow routes are not marked by signs.

If night plow signs are not posted within the block, consider it a day plow route.

“I was dropping off two friends. Both of their cars got towed last night,” Jasmine Kelly, a Twin Cities resident, said.

Kelly was in their shoes last year when her car was towed during a snow emergency. She said sometimes you have to learn the hard way.

Here is a list of snow emergency locations, rules and different ways to sign up for text and email alerts in St. Paul and Minneapolis.