A combined 1,580 vehicles were towed to impound lots in Minneapolis and St. Paul during last week's multi-day snowstorm that prompted each city to declare multiple snow emergencies.
The Feb. 21-23 snowstorm also resulted in 7,479 tickets being issued for vehicles that failed to move in time for snowplows to come through, according to numbers from each city.
The numbers, which exceed typical snow emergency numbers, are noteworthy because each city took the rare step of offering free off-street parking ahead of the storm, which packed a one-two punch over three days. A total of 2,000 vehicles used those spaces, most of which were in covered garages.
Here's the breakdown for each city:
- In Minneapolis, 695 vehicles were towed and 4,719 tickets were written during the city's three-day snow emergency, which was followed by a one-day emergency. That compares with 485 vehicles towed and 4,103 tickets written during the season's previous major snowstorm in early January.
- In St. Paul, 1,095 vehicles were towed and 3,376 tickets were written. For comparison, 430 vehicles were towed and 2,155 tickets were written in connection with the snowstorm in early January.
Typically, the number of vehicles towed during snow emergencies for double-digit snowfalls is limited not by the number of vehicles that haven't moved in time, but rather by the availability of tow trucks.
