St. Paul hosts first ever "Snow Summit" to improve winter weather response
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Winter is not that far away, and many of us may still be recovering from how much snow we got last year.
Keeping the streets clear was one of the biggest issues, especially in St. Paul, which is why the city transformed the Dale Street Garage to the meeting place of the annual "Snow Summit." It's a chance for St. Paul homeowners to meet with city leaders and street maintenance crews to talk about how to be better prepared for snow this year.
"It's easy for someone to get frustrated about certain things about the winter and how streets are managed, but until you hear from their perspective you may not get their side of the story," said Jordan Wein, a St. Paul resident, who also brought his kids to the Snow Summit to check out the plow equipment.
"[My sons] love to see big machines," said Wein.
Last winter, St. Paul set a city record of over 90 inches of snow, which is almost double the amount of snow the city is used to.
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Nick Crudo, with St. Paul Street Maintenance, says their plows struggled to keep up with clearing the streets because of low staffing.
"We need the people for sure, and then residents can help out a ton by not parking where they're supposed to park," said Crudo.
Team work goes a long way in the winter. St. Paul Public Works does not plow in alleyways, and that's where Alley Captains come in to play.
"I collect the snowplow money and arrange for our alley, a three block alley, to be plowed in the winter," said Catherine Plessner, an Alley Captain for the Macalester-Groveland neighborhood.
Plessner has been an Alley Captain for several years now. She hopes this Snow Summit improves communication this winter.
"We have each other's information, we have a coordinator here at St. Paul, so we're all excited for that, so it will get better and each year it'll get better," said Plessner.
With low staffing being a big issue last winter, St. Paul Public Works has already started actively hiring for this winter, and they offer CDL licensing and training on these plows for free.
