Minneapolis bans parking on most even side of streets until April

Photo by Andrew Ciscel

​If you park on some of the packed streets of Minneapolis each night, get ready for one heck of a headache for the rest of the winter. Starting Thursday morning at 8 a.m., Minneapolis is banning all parking on the even-numbered side of residential streets. Snow emergency routes are exempt from the rule.

If you live in the Uptown or University areas, get ready for some serious battles for a place to park on the street. It's like the pain of a snow emergency every single day.

Curbside snowbanks are getting so large they are encroaching on the streets and narrowing roads. This is making it hard for emergency vehicles to get down the roads. Firetrucks and ambulances are having trouble on the roads as parked cars continue to scoot closer to the middle of the road and limit driving space.

The ban is in place until April 1 or when enough snow melts. Minneapolis has had about 30 inches of snow this season and very little melted.

Don't believe it? Come watch a fire truck drive down a street today as a demonstration. Check it out at 1 p.m. at E. 19th Street and Stevens Ave. S.

Happy parking!